Switched at Quirks
by bluelove22
Summary: A "What if Izuku's father, Hisashi Midoriya, is All for One?" theory fanfic. How would everyone react, especially Izuku himself? Takes place in their 1st year overlooking Season 3/manga events, so canon divergence. Season 1 and 2 anime spoilers only. Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia or any of the characters. *cross-posted on AO3*
1. Chapter 1

AN: I used snippets of canon information from the anime, season 1 and 2, to justify this. No spoilers for anime season 3 or beyond, although I read too far into everything All for One says in the manga and it might be unintentionally referenced/taken out of proportion. I totally think this could be possible. Wishful thinking that Deku's dad is a villain. Anyway, enjoy! Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia or any of the characters.

* * *

"In order to put minds of our students' parents at ease after the villain's appearance at the mall yesterday, we will be holding an open house of sorts in the form of bring your parents to school day." Aizawa began in a bored, yet stern tone. "As advised by principal Nedzu this will take place this upcoming Saturday, two days before we leave for our new summer break location."

 _That's only three days away,_ Izuku pondered. _This must have been a really split second decision._

"Your parents will be allowed on campus from noon until four o'clock. During this time you will be responsible of escorting them around campus as well as making sure they are off school grounds by four. All members of U.A. faculty will be present to talk to your parents, or legal guardians, so if they have any questions for us after your first year here it will be a good opportunity to get them answered. Before you leave today I would like all of you to write down on this sheet the names of those who might attend so we are able to properly implement our security measures come Saturday. Make sure to let them know visitors must have some form of identification on them while on campus, such as an ID. While you should be with your parents at all times this will leave them the freedom of coming and going as needed. If you do not have anyone that wishes to attend please let me know that as well. That is all."

With that he handed the paper he was holding to Aoyama, and then wordlessly slipped into his telltale yellow sleeping bag. Barely a few seconds had passed before he was lying on the ground with his eyes closed, completely ignoring the excited chattering of his students.

"This is so exciting!" Mina squealed from where she sat behind a naturally sparkling Aoyama. Once he was done writing his parents' names down, she took the sheet with gusto. "My parents have been dying to get a tour of campus and meet the teachers since the day I got accepted. Oh, and they'll get to meet all of you guys too! I talk about you a lot, but now they'll get to put your names with faces."

"You talk about all of us?" Kaminari asked, flattered. Tsuyu signed the sheet next. "I really only talk to my parents about our foundational hero training class."

"Same," Sero added.

Mina frowned, her lower lip pulling forward into a pout as Iida quickly filled out the form before handing it back to a smiling Uraraka. "Really? And to think you two were part of the 'Bakusquad'. I bet Kirishima talks about his classmates."

 _Bakusquad?_ Izuku thought, confused for a moment. _Oh, she must mean Kacchan, Kirishima, Sero, Kiminari, and herself._

The red-haired hero in training grinned broadly. "Of course I do! I tell them about nearly everything going on in my life. We're super close. Honestly, I can't wait to meet everyone else's parents. It'll be so cool to ask Bakugo's folks for pictures of him when he wasn't so angry."

Sato signed his parents' names next, handing it off to Koda who then handed it off to Kirishima only after Bakugo was done yelling at him.

"What did you say, shitty-hair? I'm not always angry. I just get annoyed when I'm surrounded by idiots or extras, which is almost always!"

From where Izuku sat behind his childhood friend, waiting patiently as the form he needed to fill out was passed to Kaminari, Ojiro, Shoji, Jiro, Sero and Tokoyami before settling on a quietly contemplating Todoroki's desk, he laughed. "Kirishima-kun, I'm not sure they carry around pictures of four year-old Kacchan anymore. His mom and dad will probably try and tell you some funny stories about him from when he was little though. As long as they are the ones to tell you Kacchan won't come after me for embarrassing him."

"Shut the hell up, Deku! Don't give these idiots stupid ideas! You're the one that needs to worry about your mom embarrassing you with all of the baby pictures she has in that purse of hers."

"Really?" Hagakure and Mina yelled excitedly.

"I bet baby Deku was so cute," Uraraka said thoughtfully.

To her surprise, Todoroki found himself humming in agreement from where he gazed intently at the paper on his desk. "I wonder if Aizawa-sensei can get me the proper paperwork for my mother to visit. There's no way I'm putting my father's name down. Not that he'd need my permission to visit these grounds anyway."

"I'm sure Aizawa-sensei will be able to figure something out," Izuku comforted. "Put your mother's name down anyway. It won't hurt."

Nodding at his optimism, Todoroki wrote his mother's name before finally giving the sheet to Yaoyorozu. She finished with it in a few seconds before passing it to Mineta.

"What about your father, Midoriya?"

"Huh?" The fire and ice user's question caught him off guard.

"Your father," he repeated, "will he be attending too? In the past year here I've only ever heard you mention your mother."

Izuku's smile slipped off his face faster than anyone had ever seen. "I highly doubt he'll attend, but I guess I'll put him on the list anyway. It'd be a pretty crazy first meeting if he did show up."

"What do you mean by first meeting?" Mineta asked as he gave his friend the form.

"Ah, well," Izuku sputtered as he swiftly wrote both Inko and Hisashi Midoriya onto the guest list, "I've actually never actually met my father? He didn't die or anything. It's just ever since I was born he's been away on business overseas, or at least that's what my mom has been telling me for fifteen years. We get checks in the mail to support us, so we know he's alive, but since I've never even seen or talked to him it sort of feels like he doesn't exist."

"Does your mother keep in contact with him?" Iida found himself inquiring. Bakugo begrudgingly filled out the form with before Hagakure finished it off and left it on Aizawa's desk for when he awoke.

"Yeah. She says he sends letters from time to time, but she misplaces them almost as soon as she gets them somehow. I never get a chance to read them myself. We don't have any pictures of him in the house either, so I don't even know what he looks like."

Yaoyorozu seemed confused at his statements. "Not even one picture? That seems a bit odd. What exactly is his profession again?"

"All Deku knows about his crappy old man is his name, that he breathes fire, and that he's a lame-ass business man who cares more about his job than his family." Bakugo cut off in a huff.

Izuku sighed. "Kacchan, I'm sure he has his reasons. He's still my father even if he's far away. Although now that you mention it Yaoyorozu-kun, I could ask my mother what he looks like. I hadn't really thought to ask when I was younger because I assumed he would come home to visit us at some point after my birth, but I guess he's got a lot going on."

His classmates noted the tinge of sadness as he spoke, obviously holding some bitterness against his father despite his forgiving and kind nature. Noticing this, Mineta helpfully changed topics as everyone started to get up and leave.

"Hey, Tsuyu," the grape-headed said obnoxiously, "is one of your parents a frog? If so, how does that work?"

"They both have amphibian-related quirks, ribbit. You know, Mineta, you'd better be on your best behavior during the open house. I'm pretty sure Jiro has been waiting for the chance to tell someone like your parents about your perverted thoughts and behavior."

"She would not!"

The girl in question stared at the short boy emotionlessly. "I totally would, so you'd better start acting decent."

Izuku smiled as his classmates slowly began making their way out of the classroom. Aoyama gushed to a silent Koda about his dazzling parents while Ojiro, Shoji, and Tokoyami talked about their own families. Sato mentioned to Hagakure how he was planning on bringing in a bunch of sweets for the event, to which the invisible girl was literally jumping up and down with joy. Even Bakugo was more or less in a good mood, not bothering to shove Kirishima, Sero, Mina, or Kaminari away from him as they made their way out of the room as a group. Todoroki and Yaoyorozu spoke to each other as Tsuyu, Jiro, and Mineta walked a few paces behind them. The One for All user smiled as he watched his friends and classmates appearing so content, nearly overlooking the fact Uraraka and Iida were patiently waiting for him by the door.

"Spaced out there for a second, huh?" Uraraka guessed as he quickly gathered up his things and bounded over to them.

Izuku rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Maybe. I was just thinking how amazed my mom is going to be when she visits. I talk about literally everyone in class to her, so when she gets to meet all of you I'm sure she's bound to cry from happiness. She's really wanted to meet you guys for a while now."

Iida raised an eyebrow. "That seems like a strong reaction. Do you really talk us up that much, or is it because she's just excited to meet your friends?"

"More of the second thing. I've only ever mentioned Kacchan at home up until high school. He was my only friend until we were four or five, then, well, I sort of stopped talking about anyone at all. My mom's just happy I have so many people in my life to talk about now."

"Why didn't you have anybody else to talk about in elementary or middle school? Surely you had friends other than Bakugo even before your guy's falling out."

Izuku winced. "Um, not really? After I was diagnosed quirkless and Kacchan deemed me useless nobody wanted anything to do with me. If they hung out with me they would just get picked on or worse, so I was avoided. You two were the first friends I made since I was four."

For a moment the duo was silent, and Izuku worried that he'd revealed too much about his past. He didn't want to make them feel sad or anything. Sure some parts of his childhood sucked. Some moments were downright horrible. Still, he felt like it could have been much worse all things considered. He really didn't want them to feel sorry for him.

"I'll make sure she gets to meet Iida-kun and I first then," Uraraka said determinedly as they made their way down the hall to leave school. "We'll make sure she knows we're by your side at all times so she doesn't have to worry about you! After how you told us she reacted to the Shigaraki thing I'm sure it would help ease her mind to know we'll have your back."

"I agree," Iida said with a smile. "Not only am I the class rep, but I care about you as a dear friend too, Midoriya. Your mother can rest soundly knowing we'll keep an eye on you. A friend's happiness and safety is always top priority!"

Izuku and Uraraka found themselves giggling at how over the top Iida got with his charisma. With the silly poses he struck it would be hard to tell at first glance that he'd come out of a private school just a year ago.

"Thanks guys. It means a lot."

The smile Izuku shown could easily thaw even the coldest of hearts. Uraraka and Iida smiled in return, the trio chatting easily as they made their way home.

* * *

That night at dinner, Izuku's curiosity got the better of him.

"Hey, mom?" He mentioned offhandedly in between bites of katsudon. "Can I ask you a question about dad?"

She seemed a bit surprised at the topic change, but nodded nonetheless. "Of course, sweetie."

"Do you remember what he looks like? I just realized we don't have any pictures of him around the house. Is that because you only have a few and are keeping them stored away safely, or did you not have any to begin with?"

Inko frowned. "He never took pictures, now that you mention it. He also left before you were born, so all of the pictures hanging up are of the two of us, of Mitsuki and I from high school, or Katsuki and you from preschool. As for what he looks like, the last I saw him was roughly sixteen years ago. He probably looks vastly different nowadays since then."

"I know, but what did he look like when you married him? I take after you in terms of hair and eye color. Can you tell me if I have any of his features?"

Izuku waited patiently for his mother to respond, eating a couple bites of katsudon as he waited. When nearly two minutes passed without his mother responding he became worried.

"Mom?"

Inko didn't respond verbally, her forehead scrunching up as she seemed to pull herself deeper in thought. She broke into a sweat after nearly a minute of her beginning to mumble nonsense to herself. Izuku got up to stand at her side, bending down slightly so that his head was closer to her own.

"Mom, are you okay? What are you saying? Mom!"

"I can't remember," she whispered hoarsely. "What kind of wife can't remember what her husband looks like? I can't even recall the details of our marriage. We have a wedding certificate somewhere, I know, but all of the letters he sent are missing. Would I really misplace so many letters? Izuku, sweetie, I can't remember anything about Hisashi. Why? Why can't I remember your father?"

The more she spoke the more upset she became. As she grew more frantic her face paled significantly, and all of a sudden she was screwing her eyes shut and grabbing her head in pain.

"I don't feel good. My head is suddenly pounding like crazy. I'm going to lie down for a bit, okay? Don't worry about me; I think a little nap will help. I'll try to remember something once I'm feeling better, alright?"

"It's fine, mom. Really. I'll take care of putting the food away and cleaning up. Just take care of yourself," he instructed, his voice laced with concern.

She smiled at him softly. "Thank you, sweetie. You're always my little hero."

With that she made her way out of the kitchen and towards her room to rest, leaving Izuku to lose himself in his thoughts. Something was definitely fishy.

After putting the leftovers in the fridge and doing the dishes, Izuku picked up his phone and dialed All Might's number. Within three rings the number one hero picked up. Izuku immediately felt a little shy.

"Midoriya, my boy!" He greeted happily, making Izuku flush. "What seems to be the problem? It's a little late at night for you to be calling."

"Oh, um, I just had a question and a favor to ask if it's no trouble. If you're busy I understand and I'm prepared to wait or ask someone else I know it's sort of late in the evening and you probably have a life of your own and don't want to waste your time answering my questions when you might be in the middle of dinner and I hope I'm not interrupting anything I'd feel so bad if I—"

"Calm down, kid! Jeez, you're going to talk my ear off. I'm not busy at the moment and would be happy to answer your question. As for the favor, I'll see if it's possible."

Izuku breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, All Might. Thank you. Um, the question I was going to ask was about quirks. I know there are all types of quirks, but have you heard of one that can erase or alter memories?"

For a moment the line was quiet. "I know they exist," All Might finally responded after a breath. "Short and long term memory erasers, alterers, and blockers have been seldom recorded since quirks first arose, yet they have been recorded. What brought you to ask me this question though? Did something happen?"

"Oh, well, it sort of has to do with my mom. I asked her about my father today, whom I've never met because he's been away on business overseas since before I was born, and Yaoyorozu brought up how weird it was that I didn't have any pictures of my father in the house and had never met him. The fact my mom kept losing the letters he's apparently sent is also suspicious. Anyway, when I asked her what he looked like today she became ill and her head started hurting. She said she can't remember anything having to do with my father. We know his name and quirk, but that's it. It made me wonder if maybe someone altered or erased her memories of him. Do you think that's possible?"

"Probably. What do you know about your father, my boy?"

Izuku told him what he knew, mentioning as it came to him the fact that their family doctor had his mother's family history records but nothing on his father or his father's relatives.

"If I text you the account number my father sends us money through as well as his name, do you think your investigator friend can tell me anything about him? Or at least let me know if he knows anyone that would be able to tell if my mother's memories have been altered? I'm sorry if that is too much to ask, but I'm worried about my mom. I also think something weird is going on with my father. I tried searching his name from my phone on the train ride back, but nothing came up."

"I understand and agree that your suspicious is warranted." All Might assured. "How about you text me the information and I'll forward it to Tsukauchi. We're good friends, so I don't think he'll mind this favor. He'll most likely get back to me tomorrow or the next day and I'll call you when I have something to tell you. Is that okay with you?"

"Of course! Thank you so much, All Might."

A laugh came from the other line. "It's no trouble at all, my boy. Anything to help my successor and student out. I hope your mother gets to feeling better soon, by the way. She's a sweet woman and I hate to know she's feeling anything less than well."

"Thank you," Izuku said again. "I guess I'll let you go then. Have a nice rest of your night."

"You do the same, Young Midoriya. Talk to you tomorrow."

"Uh-huh. Bye."

Izuku hung up, mind reeling despite being happy for All Might's help. What would Tsukauchi find tomorrow?


	2. Chapter 2

_The next day, in an unknown location…_

Kurogiri appeared in All for One's hideout in a burst of swirling purple fog. Within seconds his form shrunk down until only his head remained shrouded by his quirk, the rest of him blending in with the dimness of the monitor room. He brushed off his suit upon habit just as the older villain addressed him.

"What news have you brought me this afternoon requiring a private audience, Kurogiri? Tomura wasn't very happy upon hearing you had things you wished to speak with me about without him overhearing. Let me remind you you're still on his bad side after the incident at the USJ, not to mention when you stopped him from hurting the new recruits the other day."

"I am aware of Tomura Shigaraki's feelings, master. He impressed us both earlier with his plan regarding the hero class's training camp. Once we are told of where the new location will be I'm sure we'll be able to come up with a strategy to make the mission a success, but there was something else brought to my attention by an ally in the police force. Something involving confidential information you have not told the boy just yet. He is growing in experience and drive, that is true, but I'm afraid an opportunity like the one being presented might be squandered by his hatred for heroes."

All for One made a controlled sound of annoyance. "This has to do with my most recent son, doesn't it?"

"Unfortunately. I received word that a private investigator was looking into the existence of Hisashi Midoriya late last night and early this morning. I also checked on the accounts you've set up to provide for all of your children, and the one connected to Inko Midoriya has been put under investigation after being linked to other false accounts and a trail of illegal money laundering as well as identity theft. The Midoriya family will no longer be receiving funds from you."

"I'm not too worried about that detail, Kurogiri. Are the other accounts being investigated?"

"No."

"Then the other families will still be taken care of as usual. Do let me know if that changes though, because the investigators might be able to find a connection between the Midoriya account and the others. Either way, it does not concern me that Inko and Izuku have people looking into one of my many pseudo-identities. There is nothing anyone will find linking Hisashi to me."

Kurogiri nodded. "That is true, master, but something else has been brought to my attention that you might want to take advantage of. You've been preparing to let Tomura Shigaraki take over and act on his own for a while, correct? Even at the risk of capture."

"Don't mock me." All for One's voice was sharp. "If I am captured it is because I wished to be."

"I apologize. I didn't intend for that to sound like an accusation, I assure you."

"Get to the point already; I'm beginning to lose my patience."

"Our spy in U.A. informed me that there will be an open house this Saturday," the warp gate began. "The students' parents are allowed to roam campus freely as long as their student put their names on a pre-authorized list filled out at school yesterday. Izuku Midoriya put your alias on the guest list, master. Should you want I could get a fake ID made for you allowing you entrance to campus. Would it not be interesting to pay one of your sons a visit? It could be the perfect opportunity to plant doubt in his mind in becoming a hero. Knowing his father is a villain, maybe even the very one he's destined to destroy on account you believe him to be All Might's successor, will crush him. Such a revelation might even take him out of Tomura Shigaraki's warpath."

All for One was quiet for several moments. Finally a small chuckle escaped him, a sound to which Kurogiri stiffened at.

"I like the way you think. Crushing his spirits would undoubtedly make him less of a pain to deal with in the future. Imagine his classmates, his teaches, the world finding out that his father is a villain. Once word escaped the school, which it would no matter how hard the heroes try and cover it up, the media would eat both the boy and the school alive for him being able to attend while my blood runs in his veins. Honestly, I never imagined one of my many quirkless children would become something of a pawn to use in my plan to snuff out what my foolish brother left behind. From what I know the boy absolutely adores All Might as well. Even before that annoying hero chose him as a successor All Might was who he aspired to be like, and I'm guessing the boy knows about my existence including that I am the cause for All Might's decline in health. Finding out his own father was the one that caused such a debilitating injury to his hero would not only be a blow to his self-efficacy and drive to be hero, but All Might himself would surely be in shock."

Raucous laughter caught Kurogiri off guard, but the warp gate told himself to remain calm if even the noise chilled him to the bone.

"Yes, Kurogiri, I think you're onto something. You've given me something to think about. I must speak with the doctor about some ideas concerning my state, but for now I would like you to inform Tomura Shigaraki of the information being kept from him up until now. If you have trouble getting him to listen to you, or he doesn't believe you, he can call me via the sound connection. I want you to see what he has to say about the open house and the boy and see if he makes similar connections that you did. If his thoughts are satisfactory allow him to carry out any plan he comes up with. He needs to take leading initiative into practice anyway."

"I will do as you see fit, master. I'm sure you'll be hearing from Tomura Shigaraki soon."

"I look forward to it."

With that the warp gate disappeared in a vortex of indigo, leaving All for One alone to await his doctor's arrival.

 _It's a little earlier than I had originally planned_ , the man mused, _yet I believe this to be the opportunity I've been searching for. Young Izuku Midoriya, son of that all too kind and trusting Inko. How will you cope when all you thought you knew comes crumbling down?_

* * *

"What?" Izuku's mouth felt like it was full of ash. A few minutes ago he had been watching the news in high spirits, yet here he was now feeling like he'd been frozen by Todoroki's quirk. "Are you trying to tell me there was no Hisashi Midoriya to begin with? Who did my mom meet all those years ago to have me then? There had to be _somebody_ , All Might. Who would do something like have a child with someone, erase her memories of him, implant false information in her head, leave her alone to raise his child, and send them dirty money as support despite abandoning them? What… _what the hell_?"

Izuku didn't have to see his mentor to know his mentor was probably wincing at the Kacchan-ness of his language. He found he really didn't care at the moment. His mind was overrun desperately trying to think of a way to tell his mother that there was no Hisashi without making her faint. How would he explain the sudden lack of checks in the mail due to the account providing for them being linked to incredible illegal activity? How was he going to bring up that her memories were most likely altered over a decade ago, and that the man who gave her the child she cherished hadn't left a trace of his existence anywhere? What was he going to _do_?

"Young Midoriya," All Might spoke soothingly, "I knew the news would upset you, as it should, but please try to remain calm. Take a deep breath and focus on my voice. Knowing you hearing this might work you up into a panic attack, which I want to avoid if we can help it. Please just listen to me, my boy."

Taking a long, shaky breath, Izuku forced himself to sit back down on the couch. His muscles were still locked tight, his throat just as dry as before, but now his eyes were shinning with unshed tears.

"I-I'm sorry, All Might. I j-just don't know how I'm going to tell any of this to my mom. She deserves to know, so I can't keep anything from her, but I'm worried her heart won't be able to take it. This whole situation is so messed up!"

"I know it is. Sadly, there's not much the two of us can do; we must rely on the police force to continue their investigations. If they find any new information you will be the first to know after myself. Anyway, as for your mother I think it would be best if I explain what was found to her. You're already heavily emotionally drained by the news, so for your best interest as well as her own health I will make an appearance as simply a member of the U.A. faculty. She most likely will recognize me from when she picked you up at the police station a few days prior, but you can tell her I'm your mentor from school too so she has an idea of our relationship without giving away my secret."

"Okay," he relented. "When do you think you'll be over?"

"I was thinking of stopping by later in the evening if that is alright with you. Your mother will be home by then, correct?"

"She doesn't work weekends, but she will be back from shopping long before then. If you're stopping by in the evening anyway though, All Might, why not just join us for dinner? I'm sure she wouldn't mind. It'll also make us feel better since you've been so helpful and we feel obligated to return the favor."

All Might made a noise of embarrassment on the other side of the phone. "Sheesh, kid. You really know how to tug on the old heart strings. I can't refuse such an invitation after all that. It also might be helpful to stick around after I tell her the news anyway, on account having dinner together might lift her spirits."

"Thank you so much," Izuku said sincerely. His voice still carried a defined tiredness with it though, like the weight that had been lifted off of his shoulders had yet to catch up with his body.

"My boy, you really thank me far too often. Helping people is what I do. I am a hero after all, aren't I? However, I suppose what I'm doing for you isn't because you're simply someone in need, one of my precious students, or even my successor. I'm doing this because you're invaluable to me, son. Your father hasn't a clue of what greatness he's missing out on. Watching you grow, even if it's only been the past year or so, has been a blessing in itself. You're a hero to me just as much as I'm a hero to you."

Izuku's breath hitched, tears streaming down his face as he squeezed his eyes shut and bowed his head. _Did he just call me what I think he did? Not only did he call me a hero, but I couldn't have been hearing that one word wrong, right? I could have sworn he called me… son._

"All Might?" He asked through his sniffling.

"Yes, son?"

A laugh bubbled out of Izuku before he could stop it. He hadn't heard wrong after all.

"I don't think I'll ever be able to stop thanking you for everything you've done for me if I'm being honest. I just wanted to let you know. Also, I'm going to help my mom prepare the best dinner ever for tonight, so make sure you're hungry."

All Might let out his own bark of laughter, and Izuku smiled when he heard his own mentor's large grin in the way he spoke over the line.

"I've always admired your honesty and drive, kid. I'm also sure dinner will be lovely. See you later tonight, okay? Just keep a cool head until then."

"I will. See you tonight, dad."

Izuku didn't wait to hear what All Might had to say to that after hearing the distinct sound of a dropping phone. With a soft smile and shaky hand he hung up, letting his phone drop onto the couch as he sagged back into the furniture tiredly.

He was only fifteen, but he felt like he'd experienced enough emotions to last him a lifetime.


	3. Chapter 3

"So you're telling me master had a bunch of kids in the past in order to steal their quirks once they manifested. Is that right?"

"Yes, Tomura Shigaraki. That was why I originally had to discuss some things without you present, because master hadn't informed you of his past contingency plans for gathering powerful quirks."

"That's the only reason you couldn't discuss anything in front of me?" Shigaraki glared at the warp gate from behind a pale hand. "It's not like I care if he has a bunch of quirkless NPCs running around. Seems like a big waste of time to me, considering he gets more quirks by kidnapping random teenagers and criminals from the streets. Why go to the trouble of having a bunch of snot-nosed brats and having the doctor keep an eye on their development? That means he would have had to show up at some point in the kid's life long enough to steal their quirk, have the doctor show them a fake x-ray of their foot to get them to believe they'd always been quirkless, and erase the memories of him altogether from the kid and mother involved."

Kurogiri hummed thoughtfully. Lying to the younger villain was far too easy, which only reminded him how long he had to go before he was truly ready to follow in All for One's footsteps. Being deceived so effortlessly wasn't a good trait for a successful leader, villain or not, to have.

"You might not fully understand his motivations, Tomura Shigaraki, but even if he stopped that method of quirk collection quite a while ago those children still exist. That fact leads us to the matter at hand, actually, since in directly relates to the following secret I was told to share with you."

"A secret, huh. What sort of secret? Who else besides myself knows?"

"Only the master, his doctor, and I are aware of this truth. Now, master has already informed you of Izuku Midoriya's quirk and its origin. What would you think if I told you the green-haired boy you hate so much was quirkless until just last year? That master has been keeping tabs on the boy his entire life before his involvement with All Might at U.A.?"

Shigaraki's fingernails danced anxiously along his neck as his eyes narrowed even further. "Why would master have been keeping tabs on a quirkless nobody for that long? He didn't mention knowing the kid when I first showed him the brat's picture after they cheated at the USJ." Suddenly the boy's red eyes widened, fingers slowing down in their harsh digging. " _No._ You have to be joking, Kurogiri. There's no way the two of them are related. A hero brat and a villain as great as master? That's the _stupidest_ thing I've ever heard."

"Even if you think it blasphemous, I'm afraid it is the truth. It does seem almost too ironic though, doesn't it?"

While Kurogiri thought the development would have amused the young villain he forgot to take into account the boy's anger. In a fit of rage the shaggy-haired villain activated his quirk on the nearest thing he could wrap his hand around, which happened to be an empty glass that he'd been drinking out of earlier. As it crumbled into dust Kurogiri heaved a sigh of disappointment. He'd lost half a dozen glasses that way in the past week alone.

"No, it is not ironic. It's weird! How could such an annoyingly heroic brat like that be one of master's sons? Sure the way his analytic skills might be similar, but he's just too _good_." He said the last word with a sneer. The way he said it also made it seem like he was choking down something sour. "He's as far from master as anyone can possibly get."

"Perhaps he is, but that does not change the fact he is the last child that master had before switching to other ventures. With the police looking into the account attached to Izuku Midoriya is was crucial you were informed of this information."

"I guess I get why master waited to tell me now, especially since the brat pisses me off almost as much as All Might does. Probably would have killed him the moment I had my hand around his throat the other day if I'd been told any earlier..." After a moment of silence, a light bulb seemed to go off in Shigaraki's head. "Wait a second. Only we know that they're related, right?"

"As of now that is correct."

"Imagine how that brat would react if we told him about this," the younger villain chuckled crazily as he dug deeper at his neck once more, eyes brightening with malicious excitement. "His so-called hero worship of All Might would become a big fat joke! I bet his classmates, no, the world would hate him for being a villain's son. There's no way he'd be allowed to continue at U.A. for too long after that, not with how crazy the media is nowadays. He might just give up on being a hero all together when the pressure gets too high for him to handle."

Erratic laughter filled the room. Kurogiri simply watched as Shigaraki stood up from the stool he'd been sitting on, eyes more wild than before.

"And All Might! I'm betting if he learned the truth he would be crushed. It would be like using a cheat code to whittle away the boss's health making it easier to take him out once and for all. We could finally kill the symbol of peace."

"That we could, Tomura Shigaraki, as long as we have a good enough plan. That way it won't end like our last attempt at killing him."

Shigaraki smiled gleefully, a look that would have sent chills up a civilian's spine. "If we attack the school using a bunch of noumus and those annoying new recruits to cause as much chaos as possible, then the heroes will be too preoccupied protecting the visiting parents and students to focus too much on getting in between us and those hero course brats. Any damage caused there would be a bonus too, not to mention faith in the school would hit an all time low!"

He was met with a satisfied nod. "Well done. Keep thinking about the fine details of the attack and we can discuss it with the master once he's free later this evening. I believe he wishes to make an appearance at U.A. as well."

"What? He's been in hiding for years."

"I think he wishes to use his alias as Izuku Midoriya's father in order to finally pay the boy a visit. He will likely wish to be the one that tells him and All Might the news I just told you, but after that I'm sure he'll let you be the one to finish off the number one hero."

"I guess that makes sense. He hates that All Might even more than I do, so I suppose it's okay if he uses the cheat so long as I get to deliver the final blow. Maybe I'll even be able to inflict some physical damage on the green-haired brat or kill some of his friends."

"That you probably could. As it is, I'm going to be gone for a bit in order to prepare some things in advance. Try not to disintegrate the new recruits while I'm gone."

Shigaraki grunted. "Whatever."

With that the warp gate disappeared once more, leaving the successor to All for One to plan amongst himself.

* * *

While he waited for his mom to return from grocery shopping, Izuku's itch to do something got the better of him. He began to do a little investigating of his own.

The first thing he did was call Mitsuki Bakugo. He was thankful Kacchan hadn't been the one to answer the phone, since he probably would have hung up immediately, but luck was with him today when the lively woman answered on the second ring. From there it didn't take long for him to ask some questions about Hisashi without seeming too random.

"Inko and I have been friends for years, but I really can't remember meeting your father. I think she spoke of him briefly every now and then. The details were always the same though, such as him being a business man and him having a fire breathing quirk. I can't recall ever meeting him. I'm pretty sure it was one of his friends who went to the court house with your mother in order to be a witness when they got their marriage license at the courthouse. They never had a fancy wedding otherwise I know I'd remember it, since I would have been the maid of honor. Has something come up with your father to bring this up?"

Izuku easily deflected the question as simple curiosity, stating he was planning on asking his mother at dinner tonight about the same thing. He got off the phone with her soon after.

Next he spent a while looking into the name Hisashi. Midoriya seemed to lack any kind of indication that it was special in any way Other than containing a figure that was also in his name Izuku, Midoriya seemed to be a common last name. On the other hand, Hisashi held some interesting meanings.

" _Hisashiburi_ ," he mumbled as read off of an online name meaning site, "means something along the lines of 'it has been a while since I last saw you', huh? Did he pick the alias on purpose because he knew he'd abandon us? It could also mean 'a long time ago' too. If that's the case is the name's meaning significant in any way, did he pick it as a silly jab, or is it just random and I'm reading too far into it? Ugh, why couldn't I just have a normal father instead of a…"

He trailed off bitterly, the word villain popping into his head as he went over the illegal and just downright shitty actions he knew his father had done. He was more of a villain than a regular civilian, wasn't he? He'd broken several laws in order to steal money for their sake. He was responsible for either directly or indirectly harming his mother by causing her memory loss due to illegal use of a quirk, which was a crime of the highest degree. He abandoned his family. How could Izuku not classify him as a villain after that?

With a frustrated sigh he closed the tabs on his phone and set it down on the couch once more. Next, he brought his attention to the family registration sheet his mother had dug out earlier that morning. The form had been filled out just less than seventeen years prior, meaning the city hall registrar hadn't recognized his mother's marriage until a few weeks before he had to have been conceived. The observation left his stomach feeling nauseous. From what he was gathering his father's goal, at least back when he met Inko, had just been to have a child. Why did go to the trouble of marrying her if that's all he wanted? Unless he did care enough to save face by making sure he wasn't illegitimate, and that his mother wouldn't be looked down upon for having a child out of wedlock. Even so his father abandoned them after all of the trouble.

"It just doesn't add up," Izuku muttered. "Why did he keep sending funds even after all this time? It makes even less sense than sending any money at all. He couldn't actually care about providing for us despite everything else, right? Of course not. Maybe it's just to make himself feel better. There's no other logical explanation..."

He was so lost in thought that when the front door opened and closed it didn't even register in his brain. His green eyes kept staring a hole into the floor of the living room until his mother's bright voice jarred him from his thoughts.

"Izuku, honey!" She called as she made her way into the living room after dropping the grocery bags off in the kitchen. "I got ingredients for a soba dish as well as mix for a small cake on account of the guest we're having over. What's his or her name again?"

"Um, his name is Yagi Toshinori. He's the teacher at U.A. that's been mentoring me since the beginning of the school year."

"Oh, so he's the one who's been helping you with your training? You've mentioned him a lot then."

"Yeah. I thought you should know that before he introduces himself so you don't think I invited some random stranger over. Anyway, do you want help in the kitchen? It's the least I can do after inviting him over before checking that it was okay with you first," he said sheepishly. "Thank you for getting the stuff for dinner, by the way."

Inko shook her head, a soft smile on her face at her son's words. "It's alright, sweetie. I was just surprised you wanted to have a guest over at all. It's been quite some time since Misuki's boy has been over, and I honestly expected you to invite some of your classmates over before your mentor with the way you gush about them. Oh well, I suppose I'll just have to wait another two days until I can meet them in person. Do you think they'll be interested in seeing the pictures of you from when you were little? Oh, I could show All Might the pictures of you dressed up as him! Or the ones with you in the All Might pajamas. You were even cuter then than you are now," she sighed happily.

"Mom," Izuku blushed. "Please don't show anybody those! It's so embarrassing."

His mother just giggled at his protests, gesturing with a single hand for him to follow her into the other room. They had dinner to prepare after all.

* * *

Later that night, just after the time when most people turned in for the night, Kurogiri warped to Musutafu under his master's orders. It didn't take him long to find the address of the woman he was looking for. Under the cover of darkness he made his way to her home without anyone still on the streets noticing him, meaning when he knocked on the door of the small home there was no one to witness him warping the young adult away.

"Please do not struggle," the villain instructed as he deposited the woman onto the floor somewhat gently. Terrified the woman could only scream for help as she scrambled to find the nearest exit. She didn't get the chance to get very far, however, because a hulking body of a noumu blocked her path.

She paled drastically, her screams cutting off altogether as she struggled to breathe.

"W-what is that thing? Why did you bring me here? Please let me go home!" Her form shook violently as she begged, eyes glistening with tears as fear consumed her.

Kurogiri stood resolute. "I apologize, young miss, but you possess something of value to the League of Villains. Your quirk is called Glamour, correct? It allows you to fool everybody around you into thinking you look like whatever and whoever you wish. With a quirk like that you could make people think you had blue hair, a few extra arms, or maybe even that you are a man."

"League of Villains? B-but it only lasts for fifteen minutes at a time! That's not useful at all."

A new voice broke in then, causing the kidnapped woman to freeze.

"Don't sell yourself short, young lady." All for One commented nonchalantly as he walked out of the shadows. When his disfigured face came into the light the woman's fearful eyes temporarily filled with pity, a look to which the old villain detested more than anything. "All quirks have their use. Yours, for example, will serve me well. Noumu."

Before she could figure out what he meant by that, the noumu awaiting orders by the door was behind the woman in an instant. It used its large black hands to grab the victim around her waist and hold her slightly in the air, leaving her unable to get away as All for One approached her slowly.

"Don't worry. You'll feel a little tug at first, but then it will be like ripping off a band-aid. After that you won't feel a thing."

As he raised his hand to the woman's face Kurogiri found himself turning away from the sight. When a loud scream cut through the room like a knife before going quiet altogether the warp gate could only detach somewhat from the situation at hand. Watching someone have their quirk ripped away from them, even for a villain who had killed others in the past, left him feeling just the tiniest bit of sympathy. And fear.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Update rate is currently 3-5 days probably, on account of college and my 2 jobs keeping me pretty busy (graduation this May can't come fast enough lol).

* * *

"Mom, are you nervous?"

Inko Midoriya nearly jumped at her son's question as she gazed past the gates surrounding U.A. They had been about to walk in when she stopped in complete awe at seeing the school for the first time. It was huge for a high school, that much was obvious, and the security was state of the art. The grounds went on for miles in nearly every direction. She had known her son had achieved something amazing by making it into the number one hero program in the world, but actually seeing the place in person versus a picture online made it all the more real.

"Maybe a little bit," she admitted. "I never realized just how huge your school was."

She followed her boy past the entryway, the two of them making their way to a series of tables stationed just inside the gates. It was at these tables Ectoplasm had his clones verifying the visitor's identification and checking all of them in. Inko handed her ID to one of the pro hero's clones, and Izuku glanced around while they waited for her to be checked in.

U.A. campus was packed despite the open house only starting roughly ten minutes ago. Business Course, General Education, Support Course, and a few familiar faces from the Hero Course could be seen showing their parents around the grounds. Izuku noticed with a small smile that Shinsou was among those outside. The purple-haired general student was chatting easily with who Izuku assumed to be the boy's parents. Izuku began to wonder what quirks his parents had as the trio made their way inside the building, effectively distracting him from the families approaching him and his mother from behind.

"Deku-kun!"

At the sound of the nickname, Izuku turned around with a large smile on his face. Uraraka and Iida, along with who he presumed to be their parents, gestured for the two greenettes to join them away from the check-in table.

"Uraraka-kun, Iida-kun!" He said joyously as he and his mother made to join the other two families. "I guess you were right about being the first ones to meet my mom. Anyway, this is my mother Inko. Mom, this is Uraraka and Iida."

"It's nice to meet you, Midoriya-san!" The two students greeted enthusiastically. Iida even stuck out his hand for a handshake, something he viewed as the proper way to introduce one's self to someone.

"It's a pleasure to meet my little Izuku's friends," the older Midoriya responded kindly while shaking Iida's hand. "He's sure told me a lot about the two of you. Iida, he goes on and on about how fast you are with your engine quirk, and he never misses a chance to commend your leadership skills. He also talks a lot about how great you are at martial arts on top of your gravity quirk, Uraraka. And let me just say you're even cuter than he described you."

"Mom," Izuku protested. "You said you wouldn't embarrass me."

She waved off her son's whining with an eye roll. "I'm not embarrassing you, Izuku, although if you want me to I do have those pictures of you from preschool in my purse…" The look of horror on his face made Uraraka and herself giggle before she went on to speak to the two kids. "Anyway, Uraraka, Iida, you two are the ones that walk home with Izuku, right? You've been such good friends to him. I wanted both of you to know how much that means to me," she said with a small sniffle, finding herself worked up with gratitude. "I've been meaning to thank you both for looking after my precious little Izuku!"

Uraraka smiled sheepishly, a blush lighting up her cheeks as her dad nudged her knowingly. "You're welcome, Midoriya-san, but it's really no trouble. He's our friend."

"That's right," Iida added. "Although, in all honesty, all of Class 1-A looks after one another. Midoriya-kun has many friends and classmates looking out for him just as he looks after us."

Inko found herself wiping away a stray tear. "That means the world to me, you two. It really does. Now, would you mind introducing us to your parents?"

As far as introductions went, it took over an hour for Inko to meet everyone in Class 1-A's families. She was also introduced to the Shinsou and Hatsume families in between. When the halfway point of the open house was reached, however, and the U.A. campus was at its busiest, there was an announcement over the intercoms for students wishing to introduce their parents to their homeroom teachers to make their way to their homeroom classroom for a group introduction. Izuku was glad for the arrangement, because he'd lost track of most of his friends a while ago.

"Your homeroom teacher is Eraserhead, right? An underground hero?"

"Yep! He's pretty amazing. You should have seen him in action at the U.S.J. and during the final exams. He's practically a sleepy caterpillar by day, but a kick-butt ninja at night."

"What about Toshinori? He's a teacher, but we haven't come across him all day."

Izuku rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Oh, well he works in the office when he's not teaching due to his poor health, so if we don't see him he's probably either busy or taking it easy today. Being around so many people might wear him out quicker than usual. We'll get to see All Might by the end of the day though. He's supposed to be here for the last hour of the open house."

Inko nodded, trailing just behind her son as he escorted them throughout the building until they were in front of the large door leading to his classroom.

"Why is it so big?" She asked curiously.

Izuku merely shrugged, about to voice his theories when the door opened to reveal Aizawa in all his baggy-eyed glory.

"Hurry up, Midoriya. I want to get my introduction over with as quickly as possible so I might actually have a change to speak with everyone's parents. At this rate I'm not going to be able to get a nap in until tomorrow morning."

The green-haired student assured him they were just about to head in. With a quirky smile he led his mother into the classroom where everybody else was already gathered.

All things considered, Aizawa hadn't said many words at all. On the other hand, what he had said held quite a bit of weight.

It started with a basic introduction. Within the span of five minutes he went on to praise his class as being the most promising class he'd ever had the pleasure of teaching, which filled the students and parents with some well-deserved pride. From there he made a point to assure the parents that their children were being well looked after and would be trained to become the best heroes they could be. By the end of his speech, which hadn't lasted longer than six or seven minutes, the class was buzzing with an air of positivity. It was partially because of those happy feelings being exuded that what was about to happen next would catch them so off guard.

* * *

Like most moments just before a life changing event occurred, Izuku was unaware disaster was just around the corner. Literally.

Currently he was spending his time oblivious and amongst friends. Todoroki's mother was in an avid discussion with Inko and Mitsuki about their sons' performances in the sports festival from a few months prior, and the rest of Class 1-A's families were all gathered in their usual classroom introducing one another to the parents. From where he stood with Uraraka, Iida, Todoroki, and a fuming Kacchan (he wanted to get his mother away from everyone before she had a chance to embarrass him), Izuku could see Jiro's parents talking to Yaoyorozu's mother while Kirishima, Kiminari, Mina, and Sero chatted with each other's families. He couldn't help but laugh when he overheard them gushing proudly about the four of them being the founding members of the Bakusquad, to which Bakugo overheard and decided he needed to "knock some sense into those idiots".

"Hey, Uraraka-kun, Iida-kun, Todoroki-kun." Izuku started as an idea struck him. "Do you think your parents would be up to getting an early dinner together after the open house is over? We don't have to go anywhere fancy. Honestly, I could just go for some ramen or rice dish, but maybe we could go to one of those American fast food burger joints that just opened up in the city? My mom and I thought it might be neat to try. What do you guys think?"

Uraraka's eyes lit up in excitement. "Oh, I'd love that! I can ask my folks once they're done talking to the teachers. They are big fans of the pros that teach here," she admitted with a pained grin. "It's sort of embarrassing."

"It's common to admire heroes like those who teach here," Iida argued before turning his attention back to Izuku. "Anyway, Midoriya-kun, I think that it's a wonderful idea. I'll ask my mother and father about it once they're done talking to Thirteen. Before coming here I had no idea they were in the same class together in high school, let alone that they were old friends."

Todoroki seemed a bit more troubled by the suggestion. "I'm not sure if I can join you guys. Aizawa sensei only got my mother permission to visit U.A., so the hospital is expecting her back by a specific time. If we go with you all to dinner she might get in trouble should she show up late. I don't want to risk it."

"That's too bad. Maybe you can join us afterwards?" Izuku offered. "You two took a taxi here, right? We wouldn't mind waiting until you got back to eat. The hospital isn't too far from where the restaurant is."

"Actually," Iida broke in before Todoroki could answer, "my parents drove us here. There is plenty of room in the car for us to bring the two of you along. We could drop your mother off, let you say your goodbyes, and meet everyone for dinner at the designated location all before the others arrived on account of them having taken the train. It would be no trouble whatsoever."

Todoroki seemed taken back, as if he hadn't expected someone to reach out to him with such kindness. It took him a moment to realize this was probably part of the whole "being friends thing" he was still getting used to. Once he understood that he let himself smile softly at the offer.

"Thank you, Iida. We'll gladly take you up on your offer so long as your parents are fine with it."

From there the four of them began discussing American cuisine, Uraraka looking up what kind of food the restaurant served when Izuku overheard someone say his mother's name. It wouldn't have caught his attention like it did if said voice didn't sound so unnerving.

"Inko? Long time no see." Izuku spun around curiously just in time to watch the newcomer show off a charming smile, but it instantly rubbed him the wrong way. Something was off about it. Was it fake? Either that, or he wasn't smiling out of joy.

Inko seemed perplexed the man knew her name and spoke to her like an old friend, because she had no idea who he was. Even as she took in his short black hair, green eyes, and tall, suited build she couldn't remember meeting him before. "I'm sorry, but have we been introduced? I can't seem remember your name. Are you one of the kid's fathers?"

It was at this moment Mitsuki stared at the stranger in suspicion, her red eyes flashing with unease when the man let out a disconcerting chuckle.

"I know it has been a very long time, but you don't recognize when your own husband is standing in front of you? I'm hurt, Inko, I truly am."

Like a switch had been flipped, Izuku frantically whispered to Iida for him to get All Might or one of the other teachers. He hadn't had a chance to tell any of his friends about the news concerning his father, but the class representative seemed to understand something was wrong. While Inko took a step back from the apparent Hisashi, the engine-quirked hero in training nonchalantly made his way out of the room before taking off to find a teacher. He'd have to apologize for running in the halls later.

"Hisashi? Y-you can't be him. Hisashi doesn't exist."

Izuku moved so he was directly in front of his mother as she spoke. Getting in between her and the so-called Hisashi, this made the man's attention fall on him. Around them some of the Class 1-A students began to realize something was going on due to the protective display their classmate was showing. The fact there was a scowl on the usually cheery boy's face was what really set alarms off though.

"Izuku, my boy, it's nice to finally meet you. You're a couple months away from being sixteen, aren't you? You've grown up so much while I've been away."

"Shut up," he retorted harshly. Beside him Uraraka seemed stunned to hear him speak like that. "You are not my father. You're an imposter. There is no Hisashi Midoriya, so why don't you tell us who you really are and how you got in here?"

The anger in his voice startled him almost more than his mother and classmates, but he couldn't bring himself to think it was unnecessary. This man had to know messing with his mother and him like this was not okay.

Hisashi shook his head dismissively, pulling out an ID from the pocket of his dress pants. He held it up so Izuku could clearly see "Hisashi Midoriya" printed alongside his picture.

Izuku wasn't having it.

"An ID is easy enough to fake," he said with a glare. "Did you just come here because the police figured out the account in your 'name' was caught up in illegal activities and shut down? Or were you scared because they are looking into your real identity, since the one you used to marry my mom was a lie? Either way, you're not my father. And you made a really stupid decision to come to a school taught by pro heroes."

"Actually, I believe I've made a wise decision, my boy. You'll find I don't make many choices without careful calculation."

It was silent in the room for a moment, all conversation having quieted a few seconds before he'd been done speaking. The quiet didn't last long, however, because suddenly an alarm was going off that caught everyone off guard.

"Looks like my successor is right on time," the man spoke just as his form shifted before everyone's eyes. Izuku, along with everyone else in the classroom, looked at the intimidating figure standing where "Hisashi" had just been. They took in the malicious grin and ruined face with looks of horror. "And I suppose you were right, Izuku, when you said there was no Hisashi Midoriya. It's always been me all along. Hisashi was just an alias; however, I am very much your father. That is the undeniable truth."

Timing couldn't have been better for the villain as he noticed a serious-looking All Might enter the room just to freeze with shock and anger at seeing his enemy's face.

"All for One."

The villain scoffed at the hero's show of bravado, already tired of his enemy's demanding presence. "Well isn't this just perfect. All Might, you've arrived just in time for the big reveal."

"What are you talking about?" The number one hero questioned, his usual smile showing no hint of making an appearance. "You have three seconds before I send you flying out of this building if you even think about laying a hand on my students."

The villain's returning grin was chilling to say the least.

"I myself have no plans to hurt your students, All Might. What my successor does, on the other hand, is none of my concern. The only one I'll be fighting today is you, but before that I just thought I'd stop by to visit my son during the open house. It's our first time meeting after all. You've gotten to know him pretty well though, haven't you?"

Unease flittered across All Might's face. "What exactly are you saying?"

"What do you say, Izuku my boy? Want to tell All Might that you've finally met your father after all this time? You look so much more like your mother, but with a quick DNA test you'll find there's more villain than hero running through those veins."

Izuku was aware of blood roaring in his ears as he took a step back, his mother's hand catching his shoulder as she worriedly called his name. His mind was not making the connection between her words and him though. All he could focus on was the man that was his mentor's greatest enemy telling him that he was his son.

"Like it or not," All for One continued, completely aware of Izuku's internal struggle, "while there might not be a 'Hisashi', you've indeed always had a father. I had hoped you would have stayed quirkless and out of my sight like the rest of my children before you, but like Tomura said you are quite intelligent even if you are annoying. It's a shame you weren't born with a quirk, otherwise I would have surely chosen you as my successor over him, but like the other failures you weren't born ready to take up the mantel of hatred like Tomura was. The doctor confirmed it the moment he told your mother and you about your quirkless status. As it stands my current successor will do just fine. He's the one who planned the attack going on outside this building right now, after all. He's also looking forward to killing you himself."

The air became charged as the students in the room tensed for a fight, screaming having made its way from outside early on in his speech.

"That being said, it was interesting to meet you for the first and last time, my boy."

With a condescending wave, All for One's form became surrounded by a mass of black liquid. He turned to All Might once again just before he warped out of sight.

"I'll be waiting for you outside, All Might. You have one minute to find me before I start window-shopping for some useful quirks. The quirkless population could always be a bit higher."


	5. Chapter 5

AN: Next update will be in 3-5 days (closer to 4 or 5 because I have some midterms coming up at the end of the week). On a happier note, I got a kitten! She's orange so I wanted to name her Catchan or Catsuki after my favorite MHA character (tied with Izuku), but sadly my boyfriend vetoed those lol.

* * *

What followed next was chaos.

All Might spared not a single second getting out of there, jumping clean across the room and breaking through the window with a few simple contractions of rippling muscles. From the intercom Principal Nedzu gave the students and parents permission to fight using their quirks while assuring more heroes were on the way. He went on to identify the known villains having been spotted, detailing how their quirks worked and advising the best way to capture them, but much of what was said was lost to Izuku as he felt his chest constrict. The green-haired boy knew someone was shaking him. He could feel the hands clutch his shoulders desperately, a voice calling his name behind the overwhelming sound of static. He wanted to say something, anything, yet all he could do was stare in the direction All Might went off in.

 _I can't really be All for One's son, can I?_ He questioned himself. _It made sense that my father could be a villain, but if proof was found that I am actually related to him then what will I do? All for One's quirk is the reason One for All even exists. He was the reason All Might is weakening, the reason he'd lost his stomach, the reason evil is beginning to amass at an alarming rate. All for One is the epitome of evil this day in age. All Might is his exact opposite, the symbol of hope and justice for everyone. I want to be just like All Might, so I can't be a villain's son. I can't._

His thoughts spiraled dangerously, self-doubt and illogical guilt nearly sending him into a panic attack; however, a strong punch to the face knocked him back into coherence before that could happen.

"Hey, Deku!" He made out Bakugo's voice before he registered his childhood friend standing in front of him. The explosive blonde's hands were sparking, the familiar sight distracting Izuku from the pain in his cheek and grounding him to reality. When he finally managed to lift his eyes to the owner of those hands, Izuku was surprised to make out an emotion other than anger present in his crimson gaze.

"Don't you _dare_ listen to a word that ugly ass said!" He roared while poking the green-haired male in the chest none too gently. "You won't know shit until someone can confirm if what he said isn't a steaming pile of lies. Even if what he said turns out to be true, it changes _nothing_ ," he said as he let out a small explosion, his entire body visibly trembling with anger. "You've always said you wanted to be a hero, right? Then stop crying like the useless Deku you are and start being the Deku that your shitty hero name is supposed to stand for. There are a bunch of villains outside, and people in danger. You want to save them, don't you? I won't have a half-assed wannabe hero as one of my stepping stones, so let's get out there and kick some ass!"

Izuku could only gape at Bakugo, the tears he hadn't realized had been running down his cheeks when he'd spaced out earlier suddenly apparent. He quickly wiped them away, finally taking in his old friend's crude but helpful advice. Around them other students had already made their way out of the classroom and outside to where the fighting was. When he noticed his mother was waiting to see what he'd do, a few other parents watching the fight outside from the relative safety of the classroom, he realized Bakugo must have told Uraraka, Iida, and Todoroki to go on ahead of them. Something about that caused a feeling of gratitude to stir in his chest, and that feeling told him exactly what he needed to do next.

"Okay, Kacchan." Izuku said with a small, but unwavering smile. "Let's give those villains hell."

For a second, Bakugo seemed like he was struggling to fight off a grin. Instead he merely shook his head.

"Whatever, nerd. Doubt yourself again and I'll punch you harder next time."

"I'll count on that."

As Izuku and Bakugo took off, the two of them about to head straight into the chaos that was taking place outside, Inko's plea for them to stay there in the classroom was stopped by a pale hand on her shoulder. She turned slightly to see the gray eyes of the elder Todoroki.

"Let them go, Midoriya-san. They'll be okay."

"How do you know that? He's gotten hurt more than once at this school, from those villains. What if—"

"Our sons aren't pushovers, Inko." Mitsuki cut her off testily from where she was gazing out the window. "Even if you don't trust the school to keep them safe, trust our boys to kick those villains from here to Tokyo."

Inko's frown and worry persisted, but she nodded nonetheless. Her little Izuku wanted to be a hero after all. She needed to trust he could take on those who did wrong, and get used to the fact that even saving people had its dangers.

"Oh, Izuku," she whispered to herself as she went to stand next to the two other women by the window. "Please be alright."

* * *

Barely five minutes had passed when Izuku felt the ground beneath him disappear. From a few yards away Bakugo wasn't fast enough to stop the other boy from falling into the warp gate that was Kurogiri, leaving him to stare at the spot the greenette had just been standing before letting out a scream of rage.

On the other side of campus, an area far enough away to keep the fight between All Might and All for One separate from the madness that was happening just inside the gates, Izuku was dropped from the air none too kindly. In an instant he was back on his feet with One for All racing through his veins. When he took notice of Shigaraki and Kurogiri surveying him from not even five yards away, his eyes narrowed.

"Shigaraki," he stated challengingly. His attention briefly flickered to where the number one hero and his greatest enemy were fighting. He made a mental note to alert the other pros of the fight as soon as possible, worry churning in his gut that All Might could use back up once the noumu were dealt with.

"Long time no see, friend. How's your neck feeling?" The villain mocked, voice fluctuating into that same false-casual tone he'd used at the mall to catch him off guard.

Izuku ignored him. "What do you and All for One think you can achieve by attacking U.A.? Your noumu are getting captured left and right, and regardless of how prepared All for One is All Might _is_ going to win today. That quirk won't be able used to harm others ever again. Your gamble isn't going to pay off."

"Is that what you think?"

The gray-haired villain spread his arms out from either side, his palms facing towards the sky and fingers splaying almost dramatically so. When he spoke his determined tone was laced with maniacal giggles.

"You have no idea how wrong you really are, you annoying brat. All Might is on the verge of losing everything. His powers, his protégée, and his life will all be lost all thanks to master and I. Master will knock him down until he can't fight anymore, and once he's immobilized Kurogiri will warp us over to them. Your precious hero will be forced to watch as I take the quirk he passed onto you right in front of him. He won't be able to do a thing as his precious successor and quirk are lost once and for all," he finished with a laugh. "After that killing him will be child's play."

 _He has All for One's quirk?_ Izuku thought, realizing the older villain had been bluffing earlier in the class room about stealing random quirks. _I can't let him get away then. That evil needs to end with him._

"You really think it's going to work out exactly as planned for you? There's no way All Might will lose!"

"Ah, but he will. It's thanks to your existence, actually, that master's cheat will work so well at knocking that stupid hero off his game. Honestly I can't believe he waited this long to finally use it. Anyway, you're a big help to the fall of All Might, kid. Had I not been informed of master's contingency plans a couple days ago I never would have thought you and him to be related."

"We aren't!" Izuku retorted angrily, barely able to reel himself in before he lost his cool.

Shigaraki grinned. "Still don't believe it? Remember the doctor who told you that you were quirkless? When did you have to switch to another primary doctor because he left?"

"Right around the time All Might got into a big fight with Toxic Chainsaw," was Izuku's immediate answer. "I don't see what that has to do with… Wait. His fight with All for One was about that time over seven years ago too, which was a few weeks before we were told he'd transferred to another city."

"Bingo! See, I knew you weren't that stupid. Your doctor had to leave because he needed to patch up master after his fight with the number one hero. It wasn't like he needed to keep an eye on master's quirkless children anymore anyway, since master had taken me in soon after that fight. Anyway, if you still don't believe it master's DNA is on file in the police database after they got it from the fight scene all those years ago. I'm sure if you send some of your own DNA in for testing you'll find that it's an exact match."

Izuku fisted his hands to hide the way they shook with fear.

"So?" He asked with mock confidence. "Even if we are related that doesn't make him any father of mine. A real father wouldn't think sending money could make up for his absence, his villainy, for abandoning his 'wife' to raise his 'contingency plan' alone. A father is like a pillar of strength, someone who supports and disciplines the child they love unconditionally."

Shigaraki cut him off with a bored sigh, the villain's nails scraping eerily across the side of his neck. "Yeah, I don't care how you feel. I'm more excited to see how the heroes and students at this school turn on you. They'll soon be pressured into kicking out the quirkless son of the biggest villain since quirks began. Once the media finds out who you are and that I took away your quirk, you'll be kicked to the curb like the trash you are."

"And just how are you planning on taking my quirk? I'd rather die that give it to you willingly."

"The noumu have an objective amidst the disorder of their attacks," Kurogiri finally interjected. "Hitoshi Shinsou, a student I'm sure you're quite familiar with, possesses a brainwashing quirk that takes away one's free will. Since he decided to waste such potential at an institution for heroics, he'll have the honor of being the first person to lose their quirk to Tomura Shigaraki."

At the reveal of information, Shigaraki let out another unnerving laugh. "You won't be able to stop yourself from denying any request I make then, will you, little hero?"

Izuku had enough. Green eyes widening with anger at the news his friend was being targeted like that, Izuku charged up One for All and launched himself at the hand-laden villain.

"You won't be stealing anybody's quirk today, Shigaraki!"

Due to his newfound control of his quirk, Izuku was able to land a clean punch across Shigaraki's face before Kurogiri could stop him. All the warp gate could do was watch as his teammate picked himself off of the ground painfully, the hand previously covering his face having fallen to the ground and leaving the younger villain seething with rage.

"You little brat! I might not be allowed to kill you, but master never said I couldn't leave you without a few limbs! Kurogiri, stay out of this until I tell you otherwise. That stupid U.A. uniform is going to get an improvement once I add a nice shade of red to the mix."

Izuku got himself into his usual fighting stance. When he raised his arms up in preparation for Shigaraki's approach, the villain having started sprinting towards him while speaking to his partner, the hero in training remembered something important.

He was scared. If he didn't stop Shigaraki, then Shinsou might lose his quirk. If he didn't end this fight soon in order to get All Might back up, then All Might could get gravely injured again. If he didn't end this fight soon, more innocent people would get hurt. There were so many uncertainties leaving the heavy feeling of fear weighing his body down. That only meant one thing.

A smile made its way to his face. His body lighting up with the power of One for All, he met Shigaraki's attack with one of his own.

"Charging me head on? That's your plan?" Izuku found himself taunting with a shaky grin, his body jumping easily out of the villain's reach. "You'll have to be quicker that."

Shigaraki was seething openly, chapped lips and bloodshot eyes sending chills up the young hero's spine. "You'll regret making a fool of me. I'll kill you!"

Izuku chanced another comment, instantly not regretting it.

"Sure you will. By the way, Kacchan said almost the exact same threat to someone during the sports festival, and let me just tell you it sounded much more intimidating coming from him."

* * *

Some distance away, All Might was reaching his limit. The flame of One for All had been reduced to a pitiful ember by this point. While All for One was nowhere near as strong as he'd been several years ago, the symbol of peace was struggling to keep his form up. If he reverted back before the fight was finished there would likely be no stopping the villain.

"You know, All Might," the suited man said, "you've been very quiet the entire fight. Is there something on your mind?"

The hero didn't answer, instead opting to deliver a Texas Smash to the other's stomach. It knocked All for One back and did some damage, however, it didn't stop him from running his conniving mouth.

"I suppose I don't need you to tell me. I can already guess it's because of the news I shared with young Midoriya earlier. Honestly though I hadn't even anticipated the irony of one of my brother's foolish legacies choosing my own son to become a successor. What were the chances you would pick one of my quirkless failures to be the next symbol of peace out of anybody else in the world? The poor boy must be devastated right now after learning the truth. You must be too."

"That's not true."

"Really? You expect me to believe you're okay with him staying your successor? I'm sure you wouldn't have to do much convincing for him to give your quirk to someone else. Knowing what I do about that brat's nature he'll be guilty no matter what you tell him. Giving away the quirk won't help him much though, because once the truth gets outside these gates the entire world will turn on him."

"Shut up, All for One."

With a lightning fast hit, All for One was forced into the defensive once more. It was then All Might finally gained the grounds to speak.

"You might be his father by blood, but Izuku is my son. What I saw in him hasn't changed. He'll still become the next symbol of peace regardless of your attempts to shatter him, which he won't because he's got his friends to hold him together. His heroic spirit is stronger than your tricks, All for One. You will never be able to break that."

"Perhaps I won't, but my successor just might. He's already got a plan to take my brother's troublesome quirk back with the help of some quirks he's planning to steal. He has been so excited to try out his new power."

All Might's eyes widened, his fists unclenching involuntarily.

"You already gave him your quirk?"

"It's not like a have much use for it anymore. He has enough noumu, and between him and my faithful doctor the means to make more if needed are there. As for me, I have just the quirks I need to make sure you fall."


	6. Chapter 6

AN: I frantically wrote all of this today since I've been so busy but wanted to get something up before I went to bed to start week 6 of senior year college torture. I apologize for any mistakes in it- I'll beta it tomorrow.

* * *

 _For all the times Shigaraki whined about cheating,_ Izuku thought as he narrowly avoided being warped into the hand-laden villain's path, _he sure hates to fight alone. It took all of a couple minutes for him to order Kurogiri to help him. What a hypocrite. I've sent the man flying a few times by hitting that neck armor of his, but he just keeps coming back. If I'm not careful they'll run me out of stamina before the fight is over. I need to end this now._

Taking a gamble, Izuku feinted getting tired. Within seconds he was able to fake a too-slow reaction time. Kurogiri took advantage of his slip up nearly instantaneously, creating a portal below him just as he was about to jump away again.

"I've got you now, you little brat!" Shigaraki shouted as another portal opened up in front of the younger villain. The angry teenager leapt at the swirling mass of mist just as Izuku came tumbling out.

One for All lit up his middle finger more than usual, his plan having been to break it in order to blow Shigaraki to the ground in hopes of knocking him unconscious, but unfortunately for him he neither anticipated the change of direction through the gate nor Shigaraki charging him with such frenzy. That meant five ashen fingers made contact with the back of his shoulder as he fell to the ground. Before he could use his quirk to send Shigaraki flying part of his uniform and the top few layers of skin had already begun to flake off.

Izuku fought off a pained scream as he felt wetness slide down his back and soak into the fabric of his shirt. Channeling his quirk into his body more precisely, he jumped up just enough to get out of Shigaraki's reach before flicking his finger with more power than he could handle yet below the power of a maxed out blow. The sight of the younger villain being thrown directly onto the concrete below them and hitting his head enough to knock him out was something Izuku wished he had seen; however, he was already flying towards Kurogiri. The warp gate attempted to get out of the way of Izuku's next overpowered attack, but he was too late. His neck armor shattered as the power from two broken fingers slammed into him and sent him flying into the air.

 _Now that they're dealt with it's time to get All Might some back up,_ the hero in training thought as he prepared to run towards the school. His broken fingers throbbed, and his upper back and shoulder burned where the open wound met air, yet he could still fight. He had to keep fighting. There were people who needed saving, and despite being the number one hero that included All Might.

Izuku made the mistake of glancing to where his maybe biological father and father-figure were battling. What he saw made his heart rate go into overdrive, every fiber of his being pushing him in the direction where one of the two strongest people in the world was about to lose everything.

* * *

"Seems you're all out of time, aren't you, All Might?" All for One mocked as he took in All Might's skeletal form. The costume sagged around the blonde man's thin shoulders, blood dripping from his mouth as he grimaced in pain. "And unfortunately for you Tomura is late, which means I get the pleasure of putting you out of your misery myself."

The suited villain began walking over to where the number one hero stood breathing laboriously. His arm contorted into a mass of metal parts and machinery with a sharpened edge not dissimilar to a lance, the size of which was completely overkill for stabbing the weakened man. All Might readied himself silently for his final punch, an attack he knew would pull him from his crime-fighting career forever, but before either of the men could attack a blur of what appeared to be green lightning crashed onto the ground between them.

"I won't let you hurt All Might anymore!" Izuku shouted, his back to his mentor.

He stood protectively between the hero and villain without flinching despite the horrifying weapon being pointed in his direction. The blood staining what was left of his school uniform stood out in stark contrast with his pale skin and green hair, something All Might worriedly made note of the moment he saw it. Even with that injury and the dark purple fingers on his right hand he did not tremble. He merely gazed at the spot All for One's eyes would be, demeanor demanding the villain's full attention.

All for One seemed mildly impressed, a sound of begrudging acknowledgment escaping the man as he appraised his son once more. The great metal weapon shifted slightly as he let the tip of it rest on the ground a few inches away from Izuku's feet. When said teenager didn't even glance down at the weapon capable of death so close to him, All for One actually smiled.

The sight alone put Izuku on edge.

"You really are your mother's son, aren't you? That determined look in your eyes is the exact same. It's a shame she allowed you to dream of being a hero when your quirklessness could have easily shaped you into a villain worth following me."

"I would never have become like you." Izuku retorted, fists clenching tighter at the notion.

"That's what most villains think before something happens to change their minds, my boy. Peoples' ideals are more easily swayed than you might believe. Not everyone is told they can become a hero, but nobody tells them they cannot become a villain."

Izuku ignored the truth in his statement in favor of shaking his head, anger coursing through his voice as struggled to speak without wavering.

"Stop calling me your boy. You're no father of mine, even if what you said was true. Regardless of my blood I would never have helped you no matter the situation. I was ostracized and bullied my entire life because I didn't have a quirk," he admitted quietly before raising his voice again, "and the thought of being a villain instead of a hero didn't come across my mind even once. Hurting people is wrong no matter how you justify it. You want to kill All Might so evil can rule the streets. Shigaraki wants people to live in fear instead of a so-called false sense of heroic protection. Neither of those things benefits anybody except for villains like you. Stopping you is the only way to stop innocent people from having to live their lives in fear, so I'll do anything to prevent you from having your way!"

All for One shook his head. "You say you'll do anything, yet standing before me right now would you really be willing to die for such a claim? It's true I had been planning to make you watch my protégée destroy your hero before taking my brother's troublesome quirk for his own, but as long as the quirk is out of the hands of annoying heroes like you forever I will be satisfied all the same. Knowing that, there is no chance that you could beat me in a serious fight. Trying to stop me would be pointless."

"It's not pointless. I won't just give you what you want, so if you want to get to All Might you'll have to go through me first."

Green eyes flashed with determination, the fear in them overrun by a fierce protectiveness that would have warmed All Might's heart if he could see it. As it were, all the number one hero could do was order the boy to get out of there. Of course said boy didn't respond to the hero's wishes. Instead, Izuku flashed a small thumbs up at his mentor with his uninjured hand.

"I'm sorry, All Might, but I'm not leaving you." Izuku apologized for his disobedience. "You looked like you needed help, so I'm not leaving until I know you're safe."

"Such wasted potential," All for One chimed in, his voice dripping with disappointment. His arm rose in the air, the giant metal weapon seeming to lift off of the ground effortlessly. In the span of a second the jagged point was leveled at Izuku's chest. "I might have even offered you a spot at Shigaraki's side if I thought you could be swayed away from this path, but we both know you'll die a hero before thinking of living a villain. I suppose if that is the case then all there is left to do is to say goodbye."

One moment, the weapon was in the air.

"Goodbye, Izuku Midoriya."

One for All lit up the greenette's body, but he wasn't faster than his father.

 _"Izuku!"_

In the next moment, metal was tearing into flesh without an ounce of mercy.

There was a strangled cry of pain, a green and red blur, a roar of pure rage, and two displays of One for All coursing through the veins of heroes.

Even if one of those displays of power would be for the last time.

* * *

All things considered, the villains put up a pretty decent fight. If they had taken into account the sheer power of caring parents and the strength at which they could fight at when their children were in danger, then they might have planned accordingly. As it was even over a dozen noumu and some adolescent villains couldn't last too long against 39 hero course students, dozens of support course and general students, and their quirk-endowed families. By the time back up arrived there were only a couple noumu that persisted to evade capture. That meant some of the pros were trying to round up the injured or missing.

"Bakugo," Aizawa caught the boy's attention as they worked with a few others to divert a struggling noumu into the path of Cementos, who in turn quickly encased the raging beast into a cube of cement. "Where is Midoriya? He's usually in the middle of the fighting, but I haven't seen him at all in the past fifteen minutes."

"I was separated from him early on when that purple bastard opened a gate beneath the nerd's feet."

The teacher's eyes narrowed. "That long ago, huh? I need to inform some of the other staff to begin searching the grounds for him immediately. I want to you round up the rest of your classmates and tell them to return to the school until Nedzu has announced the threat has been fully neutralized."

"What?" The blond seemed outraged at the notion of being sent inside like some helpless kid. "If you think I'm just going to stop fighting now when there's still ass to kick, then—"

"Now is not the time to argue with me like a child," the homeroom teacher reprimanded, eyes flashing behind his yellow goggles. "The rest of the pros are going to find and back up All Might wherever he's off fighting by himself, so I'm trusting you to—"

Whatever he was about to say was cut off as what sounded like a huge explosion caused the air the pressure to drop. Everyone that wasn't still working on rounding up villains stilled and went silent as the clouds above them stirred. It was only moments later when it started to rain that the pros leapt into action at once.

"Fine, I'm giving you permission to assist me. You can come with me as long as you only act to get Midoriya out of the picture though." Aizawa told Bakugo as the two of them took off towards the source of the weather-altering attack. "The pros can't fight with their full strength if there's someone in danger, so make it your priority to get him out of there so we can capture the last of the villains."

"Tch," was the only answer the teacher got in response, but by the annoyed look on the explosive teenager's face it was enough to know he understood.

Several minutes later, the two of them reached the general area from where the shockwave originated. Half a dozen other pros joined them from either side as they finally got close enough to where the fight had been to see three figures. Two of them were on the ground, and one was kneeling over the body of the smallest figure.

Bakugo's blood chilled when he noticed the form being cradled to a skeleton that looked suspiciously like All Might's chest had Izuku's green hair. There was also a substantial puddle of blood underneath them already becoming diluted due to the rain.

The skeletal figure looked up at the approach, desperation plain in is blue eyes.

"Somebody get Recovery Girl immediately," the man tried to say with some authority. To Aizawa it sounded more like begging. "He's lost a lot of blood, and he's unconscious. Please, hurry."

One of the pros immediately turned around to follow the order.

"All Might," Aizawa stated plainly once the group stood before the hero and student. "We are going to have a long talk about what the hell happened to my student. Before that, however," he turned to the other pros. "Kamui, use your vines to restrain the villain. Anybody else that has a quirk able to reinforce his binding make sure to do so, and then bring the villain to the school for further precautionary restraining. He is not to be taken lightly even while unconscious. Principal Nedzu will be able to direct the authorities on how to deal with him, so make sure to find him as well."

The pros listened, but not without glancing worriedly at All Might's new and pitiful form.

For a few seconds neither All Might nor Aizawa spoke. That was far too long for Bakugo.

"What are you idiots doing just standing there?" He found himself yelling in rage, pushing past his teacher and grabbing Izuku from All Might with a gentleness unfamiliar to the pros watching.

To their surprise the angry blond ripped a piece of Izuku's shirt off, folded it until it was more compact, and placed it over the gaping wound on his side. He pushed down in attempts to stop what blood remained in his rival from joining what covered the ground. He didn't even care that his own hands and pants were becoming wet with said blood; the only thing that mattered was Izuku.

"Some heroes you guys are," he scoffed in annoyance while glancing at All Might. "Can't even give proper first aid. What happened to the nerd anyway, All Might? And why do you look like that?"

The number one hero sighed, a look from Aizawa saying that an explanation could not wait.

* * *

Glass after glass shattered against the wall, Shigaraki looking like he was about to murder Kurogiri where he stood on the other side of the bar.

"Why didn't you go back for him? Master could still be here if you'd just done your job!"

"Tomura Shigaraki, please calm down. I was under the master's orders to bring you and the other members back here should things look rough. He also made it a point to inform me not to interfere in his fight with All Might. I am saddened by how the attack turned out as well, but we can only learn from it. Besides, master did give you his quirk. It's your turn to take over until the time comes where we might be able to free him from capture. As it is now, he will be fine where he is. He will just have to wait until you've become strong enough to help him like he has helped us. It is your turn to lead now."

The leaden-blue-haired villain halted in his tantrum, his limbs stilling as what Kurogiri said sank in.

"You're right," he spoke with what appeared to be newfound resolve. "Master might be temporarily gone, but our attack was not a total failure. The morale of the school is sure to fall after the damage the noumu did. That annoying brat is apparently in the hospital if what your contact said is true, and word has already gotten out about the kid being the villain's son. We can only wait to hear what became of All Might. He's got to be out of the picture after that fight if the brat got that badly injured."

A frenzied look entered Shigaraki's eyes once more, but this time there was a calm coldness behind the madness.

"I will pick up where master left off. Kurogiri, tomorrow I want you to bring Giran here. Tell him we're searching for more recruits. Also, ask him if he knows of any great quirks not being used to their potential," he finished with a dry-lipped smile.

"I could always use some more."


	7. Chapter 7

Izuku woke up in a hospital bed. That was the first thing he made sense of, the smell of antiseptic and the feel of telltale thin sheets giving his location away instantly. From the way his arm was kept in place tightly against his chest by a cast he also surmised he must have broken it yet again. Just when he'd gotten the hang of controlling his strength output too.

 _Huh_ , he thought coyly, _nothing too out of the ordinary then. What exactly happened though? I remember All for One bringing his weapon down as I powered up Full Cowling to get out of the way, but then it all went black. I must have been too slow. That means he must have managed to hit me, right?_

Taking in a deep breath of air confirmed his suspicions. By the sharp tug resonating from his side he knew there had to be several stitches there. He could also feel the wrapping of bandages crisscrossing around his shoulder and back, the memory of Shigaraki grabbing him there coming to the forefront of his mind with great clarity.

"I should have been more careful," he murmured tiredly as he struggled to get his eyelids to move. The instant his eyes blinked open, however, he heard the sound of movement coming from either side of him.

"Izuku!"

"Young Midoriya?"

Once he was able to focus his bleary vision he made out the figures of his parents. To his left his mother surged forward, happy tears falling down her face as she gathered her son into a light hug as to not bother the injury to his side. On his right All Might stood with one arm in a cast and various bandages littering his head and face, but a relieved smile persisted all the same.

"Mom, All Might." He croaked, which had his mother quickly handing him a Styrofoam cup of water.

"Drink slowly," she reminded before he emptied the cup in seconds. "You've been unconscious for over a day. They gave you a blood transfusion, but you still need to take it easy for the next few days."

After finishing the drink and setting the cup to the side, Izuku smiled sheepishly.

"I will."

Inko looked at him pointedly, and Izuku faltered under such a gaze.

"I promise I'll take it easy this time, really! Anyway, what happened after I blacked out? Are my friends and everyone else okay?" He turned to All Might, worry crawling up his features. "What about you? After I passed out, did All for One…"

All Might gave an exaggerated thumbs up.

"Young Midoriya, All for One is in police custody and locked up in the most secure prison in Japan thanks to you."

"Thanks to me? But I don't remember doing anything but getting in the way of his hit."

"No, my boy, you moved just enough to avoid getting hit where he intended that weapon of his to find its mark. When it got your side instead of where he'd meant it to go, you used a maxed out punch like I've never seen before to send him flying upwards. Even though you passed out afterwards, your punch distracted him. It gave me enough time to hit him with one last attack of my own, effectively taking him down once and for all," he finished with a wink. "I could not have managed it in the state I was in without you. I could barely move, but even injured you fought on. For that I must tell you how proud I am. And as unhappy as I was that you didn't listen to me when I told you to leave, I would be a hypocrite if I said I wouldn't have done the same. That being said I must thank you for saving me once again."

He bowed his head for a moment, which flustered both of the Midoriya's quite effectively. After a few seconds he finally looked up again. This time the look on his face was somber, so when he spoke Izuku hung on every word he said more than usual.

"As happy as I am that All for One is finally off the streets, there is more news I must share with you. Most of it is distressing. First, I do need to tell you that after what happened yesterday I informed your mother of everything."

Izuku's eyes widened. He turned to his mother, who was trying to send him a small smile despite the hint of hurt in her eyes.

"Mom, I'm really sorry I didn't tell you about everything before. I never wanted to keep secrets from you, but for All Might's sake the less people that knew the truth about him and his quirk…"

He trailed off as his mother shed a few more tears, which only sent some gathering into his own eyes. The last thing he ever wanted to do was lie to her.

"Sweetie, I understand. Please don't feel guilty for shouldering such a heavy burden. I'm not too upset; moreover, I'm so, so proud of you."

Izuku hid his head in his hands as his mother's own hand began carding through his hair comfortingly.

"Toshinori told me everything though, so you don't need to worry about keeping me out of the loop anymore. After what happened with that villain he decided there were things I needed to know, especially after what we confirmed earlier this morning. Izuku, sweetie, I'm the one who should be sorry. I can't believe this entire incident was my fault."

"None of this was your fault," All Might told her immediately. "There was no way you could have known."

Izuku stilled under his mother's touch then, the forgotten horror from the day before churning in his gut with renewed force. He didn't want to believe it. He would need to hear it if what he feared was indeed the truth.

"All for One really is my biological father, isn't he?"

The broken nod Inko gave him and the clenching of All Might's fists was all the indication he needed. With a shaky breath, he faced his mentor.

"Who knows?"

"The doctor who ran the test and the three of us are the only ones explicitly told the results of the blood test, but unfortunately the villains made sure word spread about you being related to the villain that led the attack on the school. Your classmates and their families, along with a few others, were in the room when he first revealed your relationship, so they likely expect this to be more than a rumor being circulated by the villains. Sadly, the media has already begun attacking the school anyway. Nedzu and Aizawa are dealing with the press as we speak. Do not worry one bit about attending school after break though, okay? A similar situation has happened in the past before whether the public is aware of it or not."

Izuku sighed, his left arm tracing along the cast on his right one despairingly.

"It's one thing to have a villain's child attend U.A., I'm sure, but being the son of someone like All for One is surely a lot worse. I have the blood of the greatest evil running in my veins. How can I become the next symbol of peace knowing this?"

"Izuku."

Straightening at the use of his first name, green eyes met blue as they stared into him with more seriousness than he's ever seen.

"You might be related to All for One, but people cannot choose their parents. Anyway, aren't you forgetting who else's blood you've got in you? You might be All for One's son, but you're also One for All's original holder's nephew. You've had the blood of a hero in you since the moment you were born."

"I-I hadn't thought about that before," Izuku admitted. "If he were alive he would be my uncle, I guess. Wow."

All Might grinned, a hand patting the young boy on the head reassuringly.

"It's almost like you were destined for his quirk after all, huh, my boy?"

More tears covered his cheeks, to which the exasperated adults smiled fondly at. After a moment All Might had to continue the conversation though, because there was much more to hear.

"Let's talk about your injuries." He started while grabbing a clipboard from his bedside. "The doctor already informed your mother about this, but from what I've gathered that last punch you sent seriously messed up the bones in your arm. You must have sustained one hundred percent for much longer than you've done in the past. Some of the bone fragments had to be taken out before Recovery Girl could heal it. Even then, you already were being transferred to this hospital due to the wound to your side. All for One's hit didn't touch your heart like he had intended, but it did graze your stomach. You needed a blood transfusion. Luckily between Recovery Girl and the doctors here it should be fully healed by the end of the week. You lost a heck of a lot of blood though, kid. Really scared the crap out of all of us." He admitted, and Izuku could hear the guilt that tinged his voice. "Anyway, as for the wound on your back and shoulder, it will probably leave a light scar since it was the last injury taken care of due to the severity of the other two."

"That's fine, I guess. Will there be scarring on my arm as well? I guess I sort of broke it worse than in the sports festival..."

At this All Might winced, and Inko took over without a word.

"Sweetie, the doctor said you needed to stop using that amount of power in your right arm again. He said if it happens one or two more times you could lose motor function in the arm completely, or if the bones shatter like that one more time because your body can't handle the power output they might have to resort to amputation. Please don't let that happen, Izuku."

His eyes fall if only to avoid seeing the begging look on his mother's face another moment longer.

"Oh. I-I see."

Izuku stared down at his bandaged arm, a frown on his face. His first reaction was that of sorrow, yet he knew that wouldn't help anything now. He would just need to take care of not injuring himself that badly again.

"I'll need to rethink my battle strategy and costume a bit, maybe add some reinforcements for my arms and focus on learning how to hit with my left. Obviously I'll avoid using more than five percent too." He began mumbling, but he reeled himself in rather quickly before facing All Might with an aura of resolve. "I can handle this, don't worry!"

"Great, my boy. Now that that's over with, there is one last thing I want to let you know before you find out from someone else."

The green-haired boy was not prepared for the devastation to follow.

"I'm retiring."

* * *

Later that night, Izuku replayed the scene in his head.

 _"I know we still both have a long way to go as teacher and student before you are ready to announce yourself as the new symbol of peace, but the fact of the matter is that you're next, Izuku. I can't hold my form up any longer. That last punch was it for my hero career; however, I will still be teaching at U.A. as long as you're attending. Principal Nedzu is glad to assist me in seeing your development through to the end."_

 _"But, All Might, Shigaraki will think he's won. You can't retire. What will the world do without a pillar of hope and justice? Villains have already started amassing due to Stain's message and the League of Villains. Without you, people might doubt that they're safe."_

 _The hero sighed, and Izuku forced himself to really look at the hero before him. With his eyes sunken in and shoulders dropped he appeared to be holding the weight of the world. That's when Izuku realized not all pillars lasted forever. It was up to good people to make new ones._

 _"I'm sorry," Izuku spoke before All Might could. "That was insensitive of me. You've risked it all to keep people safe for this long, so it's only right for you to retire. You, dad, are much more important as Yagi Toshinori than All Might."_

 _A small chuckle escaped the blonde then._

 _"No offense taken, son." The word was spoken with such fondness Izuku thought he might faint. Watching the scene before her silently, Inko regarded the exchange with a few tears of joy. "I know it's going to be hard. We're both going to be judged more than ever in the near future, but we need to remember we are not alone. We will get through this, okay? I know we will."_

 _Izuku nodded, an emerald blaze burning in his eyes._

 _"Right!"_

All things considered, Izuku wished he was feeling as confident now as he had a few hours prior.

After his mother and All Might had left, visiting hours ending rather early for a hospital, he had tried to avoid pulling out his phone. He knew what would be waiting for him when he unlocked the broken screen. Part of him knew he wasn't ready for the influx of messages from his friends, that same part screaming at him to leave his data turned off so he didn't get his usual news updates and be pulled in to reading articles concerning what just happened, but another part of him didn't want to ignore his friends any longer.

"They're probably worried sick," he muttered to himself in the emptiness of the room. "Mom did say she hadn't talked to anyone other than Kacchan's mom about a few details earlier this morning, so everyone is still most likely out of the loop. I at least need to assure them I'm okay."

With that reasoning driving him forward he steeled himself to unlock his phone with a few quick taps.

Immediately he was thrown by the number of messages waiting for him.

"Twenty one separate text chains? I can't believe the entire class, even Shinsou and Hatsume, all took the time to message me." He breathed in quiet amazement, scrolling through the conversations one by one. With every message he felt a little bit lighter. Each one contained something along the lines of wanting to know how he was doing, wishing him a speedy recovery, and reassurance that no matter what happened they would be there for him.

He knew they were referring to the stir of him maybe being a villain's son (as the media would not be getting any proof that the rumor was in fact true), and the fact they didn't ask him any questions directly yet helped him breathe easier. That meant they trusted him enough to let him talk to them on his own terms, right? He'd have to thank them for their patience and understanding once school started back up next week. They deserved an explanation after all. They were there during the big reveal, and they were his friends. He could probably just say something before or after class. Should he tell Shinsou and Hatsume too?

Well, he could always debate telling them separately later. It all depended on what All Might, Aizawa, and Nedzu might have to say when they addressed the attack on the school during the start of the term speech. While they already agreed on informing the student body of some of the details of the attack, they agreed mentioning him directly would bring far too much attention to issue at hand. The school did not want to directly lie to its students, but they did not want to reveal such personal, private information to so many people who weren't entitled to Izuku's business, so avoiding whether it was rumor or not was the only course of action that would keep him somewhat out of the limelight. That was all they could really try to do.

"I think I'll just send everyone a group message telling them I'm feeling better and will be back on Monday like everyone else. That should help settle their worries," he mused as he typed up a quick message.

Once that was done he forced himself to put his phone back down. His fingers were itching to enable internet access, but he had promised his mother and All Might earlier that he wouldn't read any articles or watch any news casts tonight. The last thing he needed was to get worked up because he ended up reading or listening to news that centered on him. He also didn't want to break a promise to two of the most important people in the world to him.

Sigh loud in the silence of the room, Izuku lied down on the bed so that his eyes stared blinkingly at the ceiling above him. Tomorrow afternoon he would be discharged. He was going to be under house arrest and promptly made to take it easy, sure, but spending a week with his mother wouldn't be bad at all. After everything that happened he was actually looking forward to spending some quality time with her. He still felt guilty about the attack, as the one week training camp had to be called off on account of the situation's aftermath, yet there was always opportunity to have the trip another time.

Several minutes passed before his eyelids became heavy. After the mounting stress of the past few days his mind wouldn't allow his body rest without a fight. Even so, eventually Izuku found himself slipping away into the welcomed embrace of sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

_"Some hero you turned out to be," the faceless man before him says coldly. "Allowing someone like you into such a prestigious school was blunder on their part. You should be expelled on the grounds that you'll end up just like your father, a villain. Other students shouldn't be allowed near a spy like you."_

 _"Our children could have been killed by those monsters and all because of your villainous blood!" A woman's voice shrieks from behind him._

 _"My parents could have died," a teenager agrees from a crowd of faceless U.A. students that had formed around him. "The pros were barely able to prevent anybody from getting too badly injured. If someone had been killed it would have been your fault."_

 _"It seems I made a mistake."_

 _Amidst the canopy of vicious statements crashing over him from all directions, his ears perk up at the familiar sound of his mentor's deep voice. Hope flitters in his chest._

 _"All Might?"_

 _The hero parts the crowd of unidentifiable strangers with ease. What heavy bleakness Izuku had been feeling before lightens somewhat at his approach, but when he notices the lack of a smile on the man's face a sinking feeling enters his gut._

 _"Is something wrong?" The boy asks, brows raised in worry._

 _All Might's blue-eyed gaze bears into him without emotion. Disappointment paints the air between them the longer they go without talking, and Izuku eventually finds himself too scared to speak. When his mentor finally opens his mouth to talk he cannot stop himself from flinching at the apathetic tone that coats his words._

 _"I should never have chosen you as my successor."_

 _It was like being beat up by Kacchan on Ground Beta all over again, or All Might crashing into his spine during the final exam. Only it hurt so, so much worse._

 _"Had I known you were the child of the man that nearly killed me all those years ago, then I would never have gifted you with such a quirk. A quirk like One for All is only meant to be in hands of the good. Heroes. I wish I had passed on saving you the day that sludge villain attacked you. Getting rid of you back then would have been a blessing, not a crime. Kin of that monster should not exist."_

 _"W-what? But, All Might, you said—"_

 _"I was wrong, Midoriya. His blood taints everything he touches. You were born of a villain, so that's all you will ever be. If you still care about doing good, however, then I would like you to give your quirk to young Bakugo or Todoroki. They would make far better successors than yourself."_

 _The scene fades out just as All Might turns his back on him. He tries to get the man to come back, a cry and hand thrown forward pointlessly when he realizes he was now sitting in front of the television in his own home._

 _Suddenly he was four again. He sits on the couch between his mother and All for One, the man in the form he had taken when he first walked onto U.A. grounds. As Izuku turns to face the villain, his instincts telling him to get his mother away from the man, he catches sight of the loving gaze on his face. The boy freezes at the display of such a tender emotion. He looks so human gazing at his wife and son lovingly, and the thought that something like this could have been his makes soft sniffles erupt from his tiny throat without any input from his part._

 _"Izuku?"_

 _All for One's voice holds no distain, no disappointment. He speaks in the same way All Might did towards him in the waking world._

 _With unconditional love and care._

 _"It's alright, son. Come here." A comforting arm wraps around his shoulders, pulling him gently towards All for One until he was practically lying against his side. When careful fingers begin running through his hair comfortingly Izuku can't help but let out a choked sob. He hides his face in the man's chest as the desire for a father surges desperately. In that moment there is nothing Izuku wouldn't give to feel the loving touch of a father outside the dream. "I've got you, okay? Whatever you're upset about please don't be. I'll protect you from everything. That's what dads do, Izuku. I'll make sure no one hurts you."_

You hurt me! _He wants to scream, but it's like his voice has left him. He wants to tell the man how much he hurt his mother, himself, All Might, and all of the innocents he's come across and used for his plans._

 _But he can't. He can't control anything in his dreams, because the whole scenario is drawn from a mix of his subconscious and pure randomness which makes the next sentence All for One says hurt so much more._

 _"I love you, Izuku. Don't forget that."_

STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT. You don't love anyone! You're not my father, and you never will be! You're a villain. You hurt people. If anybody is my father, it would be All M—

 _All for One ignores him, because Izuku is mute even as his words rise over the fogginess of the dream._

 _The scene shatters as his voice finally breaks through. He falls through the man holding him, his four year-old self screaming with his teenage voice for someone to help him. However, instead of another nightmare appearing, everything goes white._

Izuku shot up in bed, his free hand clutching a bundle of fabric right above his racing heart with a gasp. As the events in the dream finally catch up to him he can't help the tears that well up in his eyes. His forehead hits his knees when he pulls them close to his chest, his entire body draping over his legs as he hides his face in shame.

A low groan escaped him as he tried to shove the events of the nightmare from his mind. How could his brain betray him like that? He can remember feeling the almost childishly stubborn demand for a father with startling clarity, the strength of said feeling nearly making him throw up what hospital food he got down for dinner when he recalled the man in his dream being All for One.

Sure dreams often made little sense, but why _him_?

Just asking himself that question triggered another wave of guilt. He felt like he had betrayed All Might.

Not having a father growing up was hard, sure, yet having someone like a father even after all this time was something he was immensely grateful for. All Might was as close to a biological father as he could get, and the only person Izuku would probably ever think of as kin in that regard. They even called each other dad and son! Then there was Aizawa, who was admittedly a lagging second. The teacher's care and concern for his students was somewhat father-like in his own unique way despite being a bit unorthodox. Either of them would have been better in his dream, yet that dream had turned into a nightmare with the addition of the villain who'd _never_ be a father to him. Why did his brain suddenly think All for One was better than the two father-figures he already had?

Izuku couldn't figure it out. All that did was make him feel guiltier for dreaming of such a desire, as if wanting a father was something bad.

He had All Might. He sort of had Aizawa. But if he had a father already, then why was he still crying like he was missing something important?

* * *

The next morning, Izuku was happy to hear his mother had printed out the forms necessary for a divorce. She was going to fill them out before they left the hospital so she could give them to Sansa, because due to the confidential nature of the reason for the divorce her case would be handled separately by a recommendation of Tsukauchi.

"I'm keeping the Midoriya name," she admitted with a small sigh. Izuku tilted his head in confusion. He was sure after everything that she would want to erase most signs of his existence. "While it might be born of a false identity it has really grown on me over the years. It'd just be too strange to change it back at this point. Instead I'm thinking of it as something that bonds you and I together, Izuku. I hope that doesn't upset you."

He answered his mom by tugging on her hand lightly from where she stood beside his bed. A second later he was hugging her tightly.

"It sounds great."

Once they pulled away they continued talking for a while longer. Before he knew it lunch had already come and gone. It was only because of the arrival of All Might, Tsukauchi, and Sansa that he realized he was supposed to be getting released soon.

 _All Might mentioned wanting to be here when we got driven home, but why are the other two there?_ Izuku thought with some confusion.

He found out why a few minutes later.

"Is this really necessary?" He remarked as Tsukauchi, Sansa, All Might, and his mother flanked him from all sides as per Tsukauchi's plan. After getting cleared to leave, the four of them had nonchalantly formed a small bubble around him like some sort of protective squad. He was grateful at first but now that they were nearing the entrance of the hospital where the police car was parked just outside he was feeling like he looked ridiculous. "If it's just the press, then I can handle it. It's not like they're going to hurt me. They just want to ask a bunch of questions, right? I promise I won't answer any of them like you advised."

The police officer shook his head, his sad eyes betraying his kind smile.

"You say that now, but the press has a way of baiting you to say something, which they can take out of proportion and context should they wish to. It's safer for you to stay silent as we leave so they can't use a misinterpreted line for of their stories."

"You're saying you don't trust me to stay quiet," he mumbled. He couldn't really blame the man though. Just look what happened with Shinsou at the sports festival.

 _Curse my habit of mumbling and inability to shut up_.

"As much as I trust you, Midoriya, the media has been pushing its luck lately. I'm sure All Might has informed you of the protest they've managed to raise against your school for allowing the son of the former leader of the League of Villains to attend. They're whipping the public up into a frenzy for views, but they don't understand what harm they are doing to the school, heroes, and especially you. There are people who want you expelled," he said gravely. "There are also those who would call you a traitor, a spy, a villain, and other hurtful things because of how the media has allowed Shigaraki to slander your reputation as a hero in training. It disappoints me more than anything."

All Might jumped in then, a frail hand landing on Izuku's shoulder before giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Keep in mind none of those people know the real you, my boy. They don't know the hero you are, so they don't care about any harm or trouble they're causing an innocent kid like yourself."

They were at the doors now. Looking past Sansa, Izuku could see the flashing of cameras and hear the somewhat muted chattering of reporters coming from outside. Tsukauchi frowned at the sight.

"I want to keep you away from them," he repeated once again. "The ignorant will do anything to get their claws into you, so you and your mother should avoid them as much as possible until the situation settles down. Chances are even if they won't try to physically harm you they are just as prepared to spew hurtful words." His face turned solemn. "And often times words will cut deeper than any physical assault too."

Thinking of many of the hurtful words thrown at him growing up, Izuku braced himself for the oncoming onslaught of insults and assumptions with a gulp.

"I'm ready for it."

Tsukauchi nodded. "I hope you are. Sansa, lead the way."

The instant the door opened Izuku was surprised to see a line of police officers guarding the entrance. There were hospital workers having to verify identify or proof of medical need in order to distinguish between innocent civilians and the press (and villains). He wished what he saw could be considered overkill, yet with the way a crowd of unhappy reporters and camera crew was straining to get past the blockage he realized Shigaraki's plan had succeeded somewhat. He had wanted Izuku to be ostracized after all. He had also wanted U.A. to be under fire, which was definitely plausible with the things the members of press and random discontented civilians were shouting at him.

"Izuku Midoriya, did you give your father the proper permissions that allowed him entry onto U.A. grounds?"

"Did you know the attack by the League of Villains was coming?"

"Are you really a spy for the League like many are speculating?"

"Inko Midoriya, were you aware your husband was a villain before marrying him?"

"Hey, kid, can you tell us what your father's quirk is exactly?"

"Do you plan on going back to school despite the movement to have you expelled?"

"What is your father's villain name? We managed to overhear a witness calling him ugly and missing part of his face, but is there something other than the Leader of the League of Villains we can call him?"

"Is it true you went missing during the main fight against the League of Villains? Some say you were fighting other members of the League, but could it be true you were actually helping them attack the school?"

Question after question struck Izuku like a hit from a noumu. By the third one he had dropped his eyes to the ground as the five of them quickly made it to the car that was taking him and his mother home. It was only All Might's hand on his shoulder that kept him walking in the right direction, otherwise he might have run into Sansa.

 _Ignore them,_ he reminded himself. _You don't owe them any answers. Most of them want something to blow out of proportion, not the truth. Anything you say will most likely be twisted even if you try to tell them what really happened. Even then they can't know about how the fight between All Might and All for One really went, or the true nature of All for One's quirk. We're lucky the people who witnessed his reveal in the classroom were all 1-A students and parents, since they cooperated with the police about staying quiet about his name. Even if the public finds out his villain name though, they surely won't know of his quirk. They can't. If that ever happens…_

He didn't want to think of the fear that knowledge like that could spawn.

They were almost to the car when he heard the protesters.

"Don't go back to U.A.!"

"We don't want innocent kids going to the same school as a villain! He'll hurt them!"

"He's spying on our children!

"What use is U.A.'s top of the line security when it can't recognize a villain strutting right past its gates?"

"His father was the leader of the League of Villains— he's got to be a member himself! He was the one who let him onto U.A. grounds!"

"Our children could have died because of those monsters! It's all because of you and your father!"

"Drop out of U.A. or we'll push for expulsion!"

It wasn't until he was being pushed into the police car that he realized his breath was coming out in gasps. Before he knew it his mother had pulled him to her chest, telling him with tears beginning to fall that he couldn't listen to those people. She reassured him over and over again that he was okay as they pulled out of the hospital. Sansa and Tsukauchi were quietly discussing the route to their apartment complex from the front of the vehicle while All Might sat on the other side of Inko with a fixed frown on his face.

"I'm so sorry, Young Midoriya." The hero stated with some frustration. "If I had been able to stop All for One years ago then this wouldn't have happened. Some hero I—"

"Shut up right now, Toshinori-san."

Everyone in the car did a double-take at Inko's no-nonsense commanding of the retiring hero. She was usually so soft spoken and emotional that it didn't seem possible for her to speak with such authority.

"You may be a hero, but you're still human. You can't win them all. You can't save everyone. You can only do as much as you can, so I will not sit here and listen to you belittle yourself while my son is hurting. He looks up to you like you're an infallible god, but we both know you're not perfect. That's why you can't blame yourself for what's happening right now. The only ones to blame are the villains and the ignorant people hurting my boy."

"I apologize," All Might acquiesced. "I shouldn't be thinking of myself at a time like this anyway."

She shook her head as Izuku finally lifted his head.

"Mom, I'm fine. I was just a bit overwhelmed outside. Really, I'm—"

"No lying to me, Izuku. You promised you wouldn't do that anymore."


	9. Chapter 9

Half of the week had passed before some of his classmates became impatient. Many of them had kept in contact with him throughout the last few days, keeping him company via text since they knew he and his mother weren't allowed to leave the apartment until they were given the go ahead. With four more full days of break left though a few of them were itching to see him. Whether it was because they guessed he was spending too much time following news stories about the protest against their school or moping about the official notice of All Might's retirement was debatable.

"Mom?" Izuku asked hesitantly. He stepped out of the hallway and into the living room, phone held loosely in his recently mended hand.

"Yes, Izuku?"

She was currently reading a book on the couch as sunlight flittered through the window lighting up the room. It made her look at peace, the stress she'd been no doubt feeling the last few days finally seeming to die down.

In an instant Izuku wanted to kick himself for interrupting her reading, but he knew it was too late to back out of the room now.

"I was just wondering if some of my friends could come over. I know we aren't supposed to leave…"

"I suppose Tsukauchi-san didn't say anything about people coming to us," she mused when he'd trailed off. "Which friends want to visit? Uraraka and Iida?"

"Yeah, but I think Todoroki, Yaoyorozu, Tsuyu, Kirishima, and Mina want to check up on me as well. That's probably too many people visiting at the same time though, right? They could attract attention if they all came over at once."

"You're right. How about you tell Uraraka and Iida they can visit today, and your other friends can visit tomorrow after I've talked to Tsukauchi-san about it? We don't want to do anything that could attract unwanted attention without consulting him first."

The reason why went unspoken. Izuku had been keeping up with the news coverage of the aftermath of All for One and Shigaraki's attack, a sadistic part of him not being able to ignore the updates on the protest again him as well as U.A. for allowing him to stay there despite his apparent "connection" to the League. All Might and Tsukauchi advised them to not leave their apartment without police escorts due to the number of people that wanted to have words with them. The Midoriya's had never been so glad to live an area with so many busy people, or else they would've feared their neighbors would bring trouble to them. After all it had taken a police order for their landlord to keep their location confidential. The few neighbors that did recognize them had agreed to cooperate with the police to not tell anyone about them living there mostly because they didn't want any reporters, protestors, or villains banging on their doors too.

"That sounds good to me," Izuku answered with a nod. "They'll only be over for an hour or two, so no need to make extra for dinner. Thanks, mom."

She smiled at him softly, but it didn't quite reach her eyes like it used to. After she told him he was welcome she went back to her book. As Izuku turned around to make his way back to his room he couldn't ignore the sour taste that crept into his mouth.

Originally he'd anticipated spending the week with his mother. By that he didn't mean simply staying inside the apartment with her in order to lie low on the radar. He thought they would be able to watch shows or movies together like they did when he was younger, make dinner together, and just talk more than either of them usually had time for. Instead they had been doing their own thing, which wouldn't have been a problem if she didn't seem to be hiding something. She seemed off. Izuku had an idea of what it could be, especially with the way she seemed to become troubled when she looked at him for too long, but he couldn't ask her due to the overwhelming feeling of dread that overcame him every time he thought about it.

 _I don't think I can handle hearing those words from her,_ Izuku thought worriedly. _But I need to know. I can't let this doubt fester in my head any longer. I can't ask my mom directly; however…_

However, he could ask the person she'd been talking to on the phone nearly every night since he got released from the hospital. After texting his friends the game plan for their visits, he pulled up All Might's number and dialed.

"Young Izuku? Is everything alright?"

It startled the green-haired teenager to hear All Might use his first name again. He tried to push the awkward buzz the word created in his chest away though, since he would have to get used to it soon.

"Oh, All Might, we're doing just fine! I didn't call because we were in danger or anything like that."

"Thank goodness," the retired hero breathed into the phone. "I suppose I should stop assuming the worst. Anywho, my boy, what made you call me if you don't mind me asking? I thought you'd be keeping your mother company."

He swallowed hard, his hand suddenly feeling sweaty where he held his phone against his ear. Why was this so difficult?

"Uh, yeah, I would be, but…"

His voice disappeared on him as panic raced through his veins. He couldn't ask All Might after all— the answer scared him too much. What would he do if the truth he feared was the only truth All Might could share with him? He couldn't handle that.

He couldn't do it. He couldn't ask.

"My boy?" All Might questioned worriedly. "You've gone awfully quiet. Is something wrong? If you need to tell me anything or ask me a question, then you know I'm here for you whenever you want."

"I don't want to waste your time." Izuku admitted softly amidst his internal conflict.

A heavy sigh came from the other line.

"How many times do I have to assure you that you aren't bothering me? Talking to you is absolutely never a waste of my time. I much enjoy talking with you, actually. It's a pleasure. Now," he began in a gentler tone, "can you please tell me what the matter is?"

It took a bit of working himself up, but eventually Izuku replied.

"You've been talking to my mom a lot lately on the phone."

"Yes, I have."

"What do you two talk about?"

"Oh, nothing too important. I've been telling her stories of my younger days from before becoming a pro hero. She often tells me of her high school days and stories of you when you were younger. We've been exchanging more funny stories than anything in order to cheer each other up, what with all the negativity going on outside right now."

Izuku's shoulders dropped.

"So she is upset. She's sad, but she's trying to hide it by putting on a mask. I knew it."

"I wouldn't worry about her too much, my boy. She's a strong woman who I believe will be able to get past—"

"It's my fault, isn't it?" The question cut his mentor off, and the weight of it kept All Might silent. "You probably can guess more accurately than I can since she's been talking to you more than me the past couple days. She seems uneasy all of the time and every time I look at her it seems like she's hiding something. It's all because of me."

"What are you talking about?"

"I haven't been able to stop thinking about it, because I'm too afraid to ask." He starts with tears in his eyes already. "All Might, do you think she regrets having me as a son?"

"What? No! Where did you get that idea in the first place?"

"When she looks at me I can't help but think she sees _him._ All I am is a reminder of what he did to her, of a time she can't even remember because of some memory altering quirk. I can't even imagine how it must feel to have one's memories erased like hers were."

"I agree, Izuku, that what he did was undoubtedly inconceivable. What he did was evil, but it's not like you did anything wrong. People cannot control their circumstances of birth. Even so, there is no way she feels that way. She loves you."

"I know she did, All Might, but after everything she learned last weekend I can't help but…" He trailed off momentarily, gathering a steady breath before continuing. "This might sound like a stupid question to ask, but don't you think she has a good reason to hate me? Maybe she wouldn't show it outwardly. It's just… she looks like she's barely holding it together underneath her façade of smiles. There are so many questions she'll never have answered. What if she stops loving me because of how I was born? Her entire life spent raising me only to find out I was intended to become a villain's successor, a pawn in _his_ game. The kind of role she had been meant to fill is sick. It's not fair, All Might. I know life isn't fair, but my mom never deserved this."

"Are you saying she didn't deserve you either?"

The younger froze. "What?"

"Oh, Izuku," the amount of concern Izuku felt coming from the other line was enough to push him over the edge. In seconds he was crawling into bed if only to save himself the energy of holding himself up. The tears on his face got all over his blanket, yet he couldn't bring himself to care when he was already feeling so embarrassed for having to subject All Might to his sniffling.

A moment later, after a few soft words telling him to take deep breaths, the retired number one hero's voice became serious.

"My boy, your mother loves you unconditionally. Neither of you are at fault for what happened to result in this situation. For some reason you both keep blaming yourselves for the mess All for One created. What I'm about to tell you is the same thing I've been telling your mother: please stop thinking you're at fault when you have nothing to be sorry for."

"B-but I'm just a reminder of—"

" _No._ I've already had to have this talk with Inko multiple times, and I will not tolerate having to have this discussion with you more than once. Izuku, I believe you should talk with your mother. She's been thinking along a similar line you have been; to know you think this way as well tells me you two haven't been communicating with one another like you should be in this sort of situation."

Izuku's brow furrowed when his brain latched onto something his mentor said.

"Wait, what did you say? Similar line… is she blaming herself for this too?"

"You Midoriya's are two of the most kind, selfless, yet somehow also stubborn and self-deprecating individuals I've ever had the pleasure of knowing," All Might gave as his answer.

"I…" Izuku wanted to say something, but he realized the person he really needed to talk to wasn't on the other line of his phone. She was sitting alone in the other room, putting on a pleasant brave face while she buried feelings of self-blame and hurt under a smile.

With a jolt he realized he was more similar to his mother than he thought.

"I'll call Inko later tonight," All Might said after a few seconds of silence. "I hope when we talk she'll be back to the fiery woman that gave me a talking to the other day. It pains me to know how troubled both of you are, but I know once you two are honest with each other things will work themselves out."

Izuku nodded in affirmation before realizing there was no way All Might could see him. He wiped the wetness on his face away with a hand before speaking determinedly into the speaker.

"I'm going to talk to her right away! Thanks for the advice, dad."

He didn't need to see All Might to know when a large grin enveloped the older man's face.

"Anytime, my boy. Anytime."

* * *

Uraraka and Iida were surprised when two red-eyed yet laughing Midoriya's greeted them upon their arrival. It was only after they were reassured about the two just having finished a therapeutic bonding session that they dropped their mutual feelings of worry. Instead they followed their friend to his room, leaving the elder Midoriya to go back to her book with a genuine smile on her face.

"Whoa," Uraraka breathed as she stepped into his room and took in all of his All Might merchandise. "You, uh, really admire All Might don't you, Deku-kun?"

"How long did it take you to amass all of this?" Iida asked in amusement.

Izuku ran a hand through his curly mop of hair sheepishly.

"If I'm being honest, I've been collecting stuff since as long as I can remember. I was three or four, I think, when I became enamored with heroes, quirks, and stuff like that. All Might was my favorite since the day he debuted. I don't buy as much nowadays though, especially since he's our teacher."

"I see you have his autograph." Uraraka said with a laugh as she pointed to a framed piece of notebook paper with All Might's signature on it.

"Um, yeah, that was before I even applied to U.A. I hung that up during my last year of middle school. I look at it when I need inspiration. It reminds me to keep going, and to not give up just because things get tough."

 _I'll probably be staring at it now more than ever,_ went unsaid.

She nodded sagely. "That makes sense. It totally fits you, Deku-kun."

"Question!" Iida said with a raised hand. "This implies you met All Might before he was our teacher. Do you mind telling us the story? If you wish to, of course. I don't want to impose or make you discuss something you're uncomfortable with."

"I don't mind at all."

Izuku sat down cross-legged against the head of his bed. He motioned for his friends to join him, and a moment later the trio was sitting in a small, comfortable circle.

"I'm not sure where I should start," he admitted, "because in context the first meeting was pretty brief. I was walking home when a sludge villain attacked me after he came out of the sewers. He almost suffocated me to death, since I couldn't get a grip on his fluid body. He would have succeeded if not for All Might saving me by blowing him away with a smash. He signed my thirteenth hero notebook that had fallen out of my backpack as I was waking up."

"Sludge villain," Iida mused. "Didn't Bakugo get attacked by one as well? He was on the news a couple years ago when he was taken hostage by a villain of a similar description."

The green-haired teenager winced. "It was the same villain. When All Might rescued me he had shoved the villain's liquid-like body into soda bottles. I really wanted to ask him a question, but he was about to leave without listening to me, so as he was preparing to jump off I got desperate and sort of… grabbed onto him?"

"You what?" Both his friends exclaimed.

"That's a tad disrespectful, don't you think? Not to mention reckless." Iida chastised while Uraraka added a "and dangerous" onto the end of his comment.

"I know, I know. It ended up fine in the end though. Anyway, he landed on a building's roof in order to drop me off somewhere safely; however, neither of us noticed he'd dropped the bottles the villain was being contained in until after we'd had a quick conversation. That villain happened to cross paths with Kacchan because I distracted All Might," he cut off whatever Iida was about to say with a single hand in the air, "but what I needed to ask him was really important despite the guilt I still feel about the incident now."

"What did you need to ask him that was so important?" Uraraka leaned forward curiously.

"You both remember how Kacchan called me quirkless, right? How the nickname he gave me was supposed to be a way of reminding me how useless I was? Until the day before the U.A. entrance exam my quirk had never shown signs of showing up. I'd nearly given up all hope on having a quirk, since the doctor told me about my toe joint when I was four and the rest of the class had gotten their quirks already. I got lucky with a last minute mutation, huh?"

Izuku's face turned solemn.

"Well, all my life I had been put down for being quirkless yet still wanting to be a hero. I had no friends because Kacchan bullied me so badly nobody wanted to be associated with me. My mom always just apologized like my fate was the worst in the world, but all I was waiting for was for one person to tell me that I could be a hero. I asked All Might on the rooftop that day if some quirkless kid like me could be a hero like him. I had to know, once and for all, if there was any hope of me becoming a hero. Do you know what he told me?"

"He told you yes," Iida replied with confidence. Uraraka nodded in agreement. When the two watched Izuku slowly shake his head, they became appalled.

"He said no?" Uraraka breathed, a hand flying to her cheek in devastation. "But why?"

"I was a scrawny, quirkless middle-schooler at the time. He simply told me to think more realistically, like looking into working in the police force since I wouldn't be able to protect myself from villains without a quirk. It was a like he'd used a smash on my heart," he said with a small, humorless laugh. "I nearly gave up on wanting to be a hero."

Taking a moment to collect himself, he left them in suspense.

"However, after he left me on the rooftop I noticed smoke coming from where the sludge villain was attacking Kacchan. I intended to head home after that, since I assumed the heroes would deal with it, but my habit of watching fights sort of brought me to where the action was? Once I saw Kacchan's face as he struggled to get away from the villain my body moved before I could think. Regardless of how he's treated me throughout the years I still thought of him as a friend. He was always amazing to me; he still is."

"Anyway, I threw my backpack at the villain and bought Kacchan some time to breathe just before All Might showed up again to save the day. Some stuff happened with the press, Kacchan yelled at me for helping him when he apparently hadn't needed it, but in the end All Might sought me out to tell me that he'd been wrong before. He apparently saw me, a quirkless boy who was obviously terrified, run into a dangerous situation all because I wanted to protect my friend. While others called me stupid, reckless, suicidal, All Might told me that what had happened was my body moving before I could think. He said that was how a lot of heroes started out. 'My body moved before I could think' is quite a common origin story cliché. But what he said after, what really had me crying, was that he told me I _could_ be a hero. The only thing I'd ever wanted someone to tell me."

"Oh, Deku-kun."

"Midoriya."

The boy in question smiled a bright smile after hearing the concern in his friends' voices.

"I'm alright now, guys. That's my origin story after all. That was the day, the moment that brought me where I am today. I'm glad everything happened the way it did, otherwise we might not be here today. And I would be really sad if I had missed out on being friends with you guys."

His two friends were overcome by emotion, Iida reaching out to hug Izuku faster than Uraraka, which only made Izuku and Uraraka burst into laughter.

* * *

 _Extra: texts Izuku read the night after he woke up in the hospital [mentioned in chapter 7]._

 **Kacchan: Hey, nerd. You better not be dying anymore or moping around. When school starts back up you need to be ready for me to mop the floor with your ass in foundational hero studies. Also, have Auntie Inko call my mom ASAP. The hag is worried sick and it's freaking annoying as hell to hear her complaining about the bastard that did all this.**

 **Iida-kun: Please respond to me at your earliest convenience, Midoriya. Until then I will be worried sick about your well-being.**

 **Uraraka-kun: Deku-kun! Text me back as soon as you can so I know you're okay!**

 **Kirishima-kun: Dude, Aizawa-sensei just gave the class a quick update on what's going on with you. I hope you feel better ASAP and don't let that evil bastard get inside your head! Also, the media sucks. Don't listen to them either. Shoot me a text once you're up and feeling less sucky, okay, buddy?**

 **Tsuyu: Aizawa-sensei said you got really injured, and Bakugo was being even more short-tempered than usual. I just want you to know we're all hoping for your fast recovery. Be sure to let everybody know how you're doing once you wake up, please. We're all worried about you.**

 **Kimanari-kun: My dude, please please please text me when you wake up! I gotta know if you're alright. Actually, just text the entire class. We're all sort of freaking out.**

 **Mineta-kun: I hope you get to feeling better Midoriya! Whatever that scary faceless guy said was probably to just screw with you, but you're too cool to let that bother you. If you need help getting the stupid reporters that're falling for that villain's trick to leave you alone just let me know. I'll stick 'em in place with my sticky balls!**

 **Tokoyami-kun: I hope for your speedy recovery, my friend. Do not let these dark times ahead weigh down on your soul. The drive of the ignorant can be strong, but it is not long-lasting. You have the heart of a hero that will triumph over any obstacle.**

 **Todoroki-kun: Midoriya-kun, text me as soon as possible, please.**

 **Shinsou-kun: Midoriya, I heard about what happened from my classmates and the news. I just wanted to let you know that even if the rumors are true, that just like a quirk your lineage doesn't make you a villain. Your actions, your passion, and your heart are what make you who you are. We both know that this means you're nothing like what the media is painting you to be. You're a hero. Don't forget that.**

 **Yaoyorozu: As soon as you get the chance can you please let everybody how you're doing? Aizawa-sensei gave us a brief amount of information meant to reassure us that you'd be fine, but we're all still worried. I'll be hoping for your quick recovery.**

 **Ojiro-kun: Hang in there, Midoriya. We're all here for you whenever you need us.**

 **Koda: Please let everyone know when you're awake, Midoriya. We're all so worried about you.**

 **Sato: Little dude, let everybody know when you've woken up, alright? We're worried about you.**

 **Hagakure: Get to feeling better, Midoriya! Also, don't watch the news for a little while. They're being pretty uncool right now believing the villain's stupid lies.**

 **Jiro: Text us when you're awake, please! We're worried about you!**

 **Mina-kun: Miiiidddooorriiii! I'm going to keep crying until you text me that you're okay!**

 **Shoji: Let us know once you've woken up, please. Everyone in class is concerned about your health.**

 **Aoyoma: No matter what anybody says, remember you shine brighter than any star!**

 **Sero-kun: Seriously, dude, can you go one fight without almost dying? Take your time recovering and all that but please let us know what's going on with you, okay? I can't trust the media right now.**

 **Hatsume-kun: Midoriya, you know as well as I do how selfish the media is when it comes to getting a story. I'm ignoring everything I see on the news until I can hear it from you personally. As it is, some of your friends told me you were hurt. Please feel better soon!**


	10. Chapter 10

The last few days of break were filled with inconspicuous visits as per Tsukauchi's permission.

With Uraraka and Iida's visit having no harmful outcome consequences to their safety, the Midoriya's had been told having a few guests at a time would be fine. The police still frequented their neighborhood a bit more than others in order to keep an eye on any suspicious figures. Even so many of his classmates stopped by at some point in order to see Izuku alive and well, and nothing out of the ordinary happened due to the visits. All Might came for dinner two nights in a row as well, much to Inko and Izuku's delight. One afternoon Mitsuki and Masaru even drug their annoyed son to their apartment for lunch.

"I only came because the hag would've chewed my ear off if I refused," Bakugo shouted when Izuku had thanked him for stopping by. "Not like a give a shit about your well-being like the rest of our class of idiots."

"Says the guy who had to get a new uniform because he voluntarily got his stained with my blood," Izuku teased before his childhood friend attempted to blow him up. Of course Mitsuki stepped in before he could really do anything other than chase Izuku around their small apartment, the younger blond screaming about his uniform having been destroyed during the fight with the villains anyway.

Even if one of his T-shirts had been scorched, Izuku was happy to know Bakugo cared in his own right.

When Sunday night arrived, Izuku was more or less ready to go back to school. All of the visits from his friends assured him that when he had them all together on Monday they would be able to handle the truth just fine. He would tell them the villain had indeed been his father and leave it at that. They were too close to him for him to lie to; he wanted to be honest with them where he could.

However, when Monday morning arrived his stomach was in knots.

"Do I really need a police escort?" Izuku asked All Might as they walked out the door.

"For your own safety, yes. Unless you'd like to take up Principal Nedzu's offer of your mother and you moving into temporary housing at U.A. We can easily have a small abode put together in the span of a few hours thanks to Cementos and others connections available."

Izuku shook his head. "We'd really like to avoid that, as cool as it sounds to live on U.A.'s campus. We'd feel pretty out of place."

All Might nodded in understanding. "I suppose you would."

The next few moments consisted of the two making their way to the provided police car without incident. Sansa told them about how long it would take to arrive at the school, and how they would be entering through an access point elsewhere along the perimeter of the gate. Apparently U.A. had a vehicle-sized service entrance far from the front gate of the school. It would ensure Izuku's safe entry into the school away from the crowds of protesters, which had already started to die down some after a week of press conferences.

"The returning assembly will mention you briefly," All Might reminded his successor during the drive. "Principal Nedzu and the other teaching staff have decided for your safety that denying the rumors is the best route to go since anything said these will surely be leaked to the public. They are going to say your case has been looked into and ultimately came back unfounded just like they have been on the news, in addition to advising the student body to not let the villains' attempts to devalue a fellow student and their university be successful. We're hoping to appeal to their school pride and desire to act like a hero amidst all of the negative pressure and fallacies being thrown at them."

Izuku's mouth became a thin line. While he hated lying to his peers, he knew it was for the best.

"Be that as it may, if anybody bothers you at school make sure you let a teacher know. The faculty members are the only ones being told for safety purposes that you do share a genetic connection to All for One. Some of them knew about All for One's quirk since a handful of them were present when I fought him several years ago too, so just keep that in mind. Like I said before, however, this does not bother them as we've had students with less than pleasant family members attend in the past. What we're more concerned about is your own well-being."

"I know," Izuku replied, voice soft with mental exhaustion. The hand of his scarred right arm clenched involuntarily. "It means a lot that you all care so much. When I was in middle school the teachers wouldn't have done so much as blink if someone was bothering me. Trying to talk to them just got me in trouble. Tattle-tale Deku got stale quick."

All Might frowned. "Your middle school sounds like it needs a new staff."

"You're probably right. They didn't really care about the students like you guys do at U.A. Speaking of which, All Might, you care a lot about me, don't you?"

He drew his head back in confusion. "Of course I do, my boy! You've heard me call you son multiple times over the past week. At this point we're more father and son than mentor an successor, aren't we? Is that okay? Do you… not feel the same? If I'm overstepping my boundaries please let me know."

Izuku let out a small laugh, All Might's panic catching him by surprise. The man was still awkward when it came to expressing his feelings or thoughts in words when he was nervous.

They really were more alike than he'd originally thought.

"Of course I feel the same! You've heard me accidentally and purposely call you dad too, and even my mom has been teasing me about her apparently getting married without her knowledge. I think she really likes you, by the way. I already know _you_ like _her._ "

The retired hero's sunken in cheeks became pink in seconds as he stuttered out a response.

"What're you talking about, my boy? Of course I admire her and all since she is quite an amazing woman. I've never met someone so strong that can give me a stern talking to like that yet still flash me the most dazzling, supportive smile. Her eyes shine like emeralds when she's talking to me over her shoulder as she makes dinner, which brings me to one of her many talents such as cooking, and her intellect is…" He trailed off in embarrassment when he realized what he was saying, hiding his face in his hands when he saw the pointed look Izuku was giving him.

"That's exactly what I'm talking about. I approve, by the way. As long as you both make each other happy I'm fine with whatever happens between you two."

All Might groaned from behind his hands. "Thank you for your blessing, my boy. Truly." He recovered a moment later, the original topic coming to mind. "Back to what you were saying earlier, why did you ask if I cared about you if that much was obvious?"

"I just wanted to be sure, I guess." Izuku admitted softly, green eyes suddenly avoiding the blue ones staring at him inquisitively. "Because, um, over the past few days I've been having these nightmares that have been unsettling me. I know they don't mean much, but I thought hearing you confirm how you felt would help?"

"If you want to talk about your nightmares I would be happy to listen. I have nightmares too, you know. Most heroes do."

"I know you'll listen, dad. I think I'm alright though."

"If you're sure, then I trust your judgment."

When Izuku glanced at All Might, the fond smile on the older man's face cut Izuku to his core. The look on his face sent his mind thinking back to something he'd screamed at Shigaraki during their fight.

 _"A father is like a pillar of strength, someone who supports and disciplines the child they love unconditionally."_

He thought of the nightmare he'd had about All for One holding him. The burning want for the love of a father was still thrumming underneath his skin, but when he thought of the nightmare once more the only face he could imagine looking up at was Yagi Toshinori's.

"Um, All Might?" Izuku found himself saying, his voice uncharacteristically vulnerable.

Immediately the man noticed something was off.

"What's wrong?"

"Can I, uh, can…" The greenette flushed as he tried to stutter out his question. After a couple more unsuccessful attempts, however, he chose to forgo asking and instead surged forward. Before All Might could react his arms were around the man's waist careful to not squeeze too hard on account of the injury to his side.

The retired hero had honestly seen it coming. He rolled his eyes at the boy's antics before wrapping his own gangly arms around Izuku, one hand reaching up to run through his curls reassuringly. He didn't even comment when he felt his thin T-shirt becoming a tad damp.

 _So this is what having a father is supposed to feel like. Izuku thought as his heart hummed loudly in his chest. It feels like having another mother, yet different. It's wonderful._

Wrapped around him, All Might's thoughts were running a mile a minute.

 _Is it too soon to tell the kid I've grown to love him as if he were my own? We've trained together and bonded for over a year, I call him son, and he calls me dad, so it shouldn't be too weird. What if it freaks him out though? I don't want to appear like some creepy old man, especially looking the way I do. Should I wait to see if he tells me first? Ugh, pull yourself together, Yagi! This isn't some schoolgirl confession. You're just going to tell your not biological son you love him in a completely paternal way. That's it._

Childish laughter drew the man out of his thoughts. He looked down for Izuku to pull away, an arm making to wipe the tears away from his eyes as his laughter faded into a mere grin.

"I thought I was the only one with a habit of mumbling, but I guess I was wrong." He hugged All Might one more time as he continued. "I love you, dad."

 _Shit! He heard me!_

Luckily he recovered quickly, squeezing Izuku tightly one more time.

"I love you too, my boy. Don't you forget that."

* * *

Izuku skipped the welcome back assembly.

It wasn't that he couldn't deal with the stares or comments coming from his fellow students. His state of mind was pretty good all things considered, yet he found the idea of waiting in his homeroom classroom more appealing. Aizawa did give him permission to skip it anyway. The teacher honestly wished he could have the rest of his class skip what he felt was a stupid assembly, but unfortunately he was one of the speakers.

Sometimes Izuku felt like the underground hero disliked his job.

But then he remembered Aizawa just disliked most people in general.

As it was, the greenette was glad for a moment's peace. Alone in the classroom he could think through what he was going to tell his friends.

 _Should I just start by saying that the rumors are true? Well, I guess I should specify which rumor with all of the other ones flying around. I'll just tell them I recently found out he is my biological father, but that I don't recognize him as being related to me at all. They probably will guess I feel that way after what they witnessed when he first arrived though, and especially after seeing the wound he gave me when I was being carted to Recovery Girl's office. What if they start treating me differently though? I don't think I can handle being ostracized by my peers again._

 _That's not going to happen,_ he chastised himself. _You saw how much they care when they visited you this past week. Their texts, the phone calls, Todoroki even brought my mother sweets! Well, that might have been a thanks for talking to his mother over the phone a couple times near the beginning of the week, the two becoming fast friends, but still. I need to stop doubting my friends._

 _I trust them, so there's no need to worry._

With that reminder, Izuku found himself beginning to relax as he stared out the window of the room. It was fixed. The glass that had covered the floor due to All Might's haste in going after All for One was long gone, not a trace left.

He checked his phone for the time.

 _The assembly should be over in a few minutes. After that everyone has a fifteen minutes break to get back to their classes and to give the teachers time to answer any questions. Assuming everyone will be back here as soon as possible since I told them I would be skipping, I'll have plenty of time to tell them the truth before Aizawa-sensei starts class promptly as always._

Before his thoughts could continue to ramble, he nearly fell out of his chair when the door to the classroom was thrown open. Within seconds some his friends were surrounding him, all sympathy and concern, while a few simply stayed back and watched him with interest.

"Midoriya!"

"Deku-kun!"

"Dude, it's great to see you!"

"It's only been a few days, but I missed you, Midori!"

"How're you holding up, Midoriya?"

"We were very worried about you, you know. I'm glad to see you're doing well."

Before Iida could admonish everyone for crowding him, as Izuku could tell by the look in his eyes he was about to go protective older brother and class rep mode at the same time, he put up his hands in the air.

"G-guys, calm down! I'm happy you care enough to be so worried about me, but I promise I'm doing fine. My injuries are all healed up for the most part, and I'm feeling better than I have in a while."

"And your mom?" Hagakure asked. "How is she?"

"She's doing pretty well too. But, actually, since we have time before class starts I really need to tell you all something. Is everybody here?"

Iida did a head count quicker than Izuku could blink.

"It seems everyone is accounted for. Would you like me to close the door, Midoriya?"

He nodded gratefully. "Thanks, Iida-kun." Once that was done most of his classmates circled around his desk, Kacchan being the outlier and instead sitting at his desk so he could pointedly look away from the group as he listened.

"I'm asking on behalf of the school, my mother, and myself that none of what I'm about to say leaves this room," he began seriously, but an undertone of fear could be heard if they listened hard enough. "The reason I'm telling you all this is because you deserve to know the truth, and because I trust you guys. I wanted you to know that. The rumor that the villain who attacked the school, the one known as All for One," he looked down at his lap to avoid any eye contact with his peers, " _is_ my biological father."

Izuku went on to explain the events leading up to the big reveal. He mentioned the weird way his mom had reacted to questions concerning Hisashi, the memory altering quirk, the illegal bank activity, and finally the reason he had been born in the first place.

"I guess it's a good thing my quirk showed late," he lied with a small chuckle. "I might not be here today if I wasn't dubbed quirkless by his doctor."

"Deku-kun, you never would've become a villain." Uraraka scolded, her eyes shining with tears at the story. "You love heroes. You are a hero!"

He merely shook his head.

"All for One had a memory altering quirk. I wouldn't have stood a chance against that, especially at age four."

"Even if that's true," Todoroki cut in, "there's no use dwelling on what could have been. I for one appreciate your honesty in all of this, Midoriya. I know it must have been difficult. Thank you."

Izuku smiled brightly.

"You're welcome, Todoroki-kun. I'm really glad everyone took this so well. I have to admit I was a bit scared you guys might treat me differently."

"And why would we do that, huh? Nothing has changed, stupid Deku."

The class swiveled their attention to Bakugo, who was now turned in his seat so he could glare directly at his childhood friend.

"Your shitty old man ended up being some lame-ass villain. Who gives a shit? All Might still won, and now the League of Villains has to rely on that tantrum-throwing excuse for a villain who uses a severed hand to hide his face. Literally nothing has changed other than your knowledge of the situation, and the fact you and your mom will have to deal without living partly off of stolen money, which isn't really an issue anyway since she makes good enough money with her job as is. You've always been a huge nerd when it comes to heroes, and a huge pain in the ass when it came to wanting to be a hero despite how much I tried to get you to give up. Finding out you're related to a villain wouldn't change your mind about anything. If anyone starts treating you differently now then they don't deserve to call you their friend."

With one final huff, he turned around his arms crossed and face somewhat red. Some of his classmates gaped at what he'd just said. Izuku for one had to consciously remember to keep his mouth shut.

Had Bakugo tried to reassure him?

 _It seems like Kacchan does care, in his own way._

Knowing better than to say thank you, as it would only send the blond into a rage of denial, Izuku instead settled for beaming at his classmates.

"Well, that's a huge load off my shoulders. I wonder what we're going to be in class since the field trip was canceled."

Suddenly, Kaminari, Mina, Satou, Kirishima, and Sero hung their heads, tears springing to the eyes of the more dramatic members of the group (Kaminari and Mina) almost comically.

"We got an email over break saying that we'll have to stay after school for a few hours every day of the week to have our supplemental lessons," Mina whined. "Apparently the amount of time spent overall is less than what we would've done over break, but doing it here means extended school days for two weeks. I'm going to die!"

"Me too!" The electric hero joined in, the idea of more lessons and homework a nightmare come true.

Their cries were so loud that most of them, save Jiro, Iida, Yaoyorozu, and Bakugo, didn't notice their caterpillar of a teacher pull open the door. He regarded the loud noises coming from his students with a grimace.

"Stop your whining, you two. Also, class is about to start, so that means everybody get to your seats. You have five seconds."

It only took three for everyone to be seated.

"That's better. Now we're going to be covering hero laws today, so..."

And just like that things were back to normal in Class 1-A.

Nobody noticed the flaming body of a pro hero strolling past the crowd assembled outside the U.A. gates. Endeavor barely acknowledged the shouts of those he forced out of his way with the sheer heat produced by his quirk. The only thing on his mind was putting a stop to one of U.A.'s many follies, and if that meant dragging the villainous son of a quirk-stealing villain out of the school with his bare hands under the guise of wishing to protect his protégé and pretending to value the opinion of the people, well, then he would do so with confidence.

He was the new number one hero after all. Who were rank-less heroes playing teachers, a talking rat, and a bunch of brats to question his judgment?


	11. Chapter 11

AN: AN: I'm a day late on my own personal deadline and I'm sorry- I meant to write more and publish earlier but life happens as we all know. On the bright side I'll be on spring break for a week so I can relax and get some well deserved reading and writing done~ It's a good thing too because another reason I was late on this was because I maybe sorta worked on like 2 of the other 5 in progress MHA fics I have in the works- those 2 are almost ready to be published but 1 is going to be a 3-shot so I need to be sure I get the events I want in order right. Anyway, thanks to everyone reading and commenting! I know I don't reply to very many of them (unless they're questions/something that needs answered) but I read them all and it means a lot to me just so you all know!

* * *

"This rule is bullshit. We're not handing it in for our proposal."

"Kacchan, it's just an exercise. The prompt was to create a new hero rule or amend an old one. It's not—"

"Shut up, Deku. Any rule that can get me fined for swearing at someone is stupid. Who cares if I swear at someone I'm supposed to be rescuing?"

"A lot of people, actually."

He was ignored.

"It doesn't change the fact that they're rescued, does it? Come up with another idea for this stupid group assignment."

"Well maybe if you suggested something less violent…"

"Are you saying there aren't certain situations where taking a villain's loved ones hostage wouldn't have settled things easier? I can think of a handful of examples where we knew the identity of some villain who would have turned themselves in if we'd just pretended to put his or her mom or child in prison to face the villain's punishment. It'd be like a little fake exchange program."

"No; it would just make the hero community look ruthless and untrustworthy. Or villainous."

"Says you, nerd. Whatever. Come up with something less specifically targeting me and maybe we can get this done before Kaminari and Kirishima's ideas become realistic."

Izuku was about to voice another idea he'd been thinking about when all of a sudden the door to their classroom was thrown open. The temperature increased by a few degrees as the visitor entered the room like he owned the place, his broad form and stoic look on his face giving off an aura that demanded authority. At Endeavor's unannounced arrival Todoroki's head snapped up so fast Yaoyorozu was worried he'd given himself whiplash.

"What are you doing here?" Todoroki questioned as he stood up, muscles tense. He knew something was very wrong for the "hero" to show up at U.A.

"This visit is none of your concern, Shoto. I'm not here to speak with you."

"Then why are you here, exactly?" Another voice cut in tiredly.

Quickly rising from his previous position wrapped up in his sleeping bag on the floor, Aizawa regarded the flaming hero with tired eyes and unamused frown.

"I'm certain you never received permission from Principal Nedzu to visit, which means you could only be here on hero business. If that is true then why do you feel the need to interrupt my class today, Endeavor?"

"Eraserhead," Endeavor said with distain. "A rankless underground hero."

The teacher hid his anger well, only revealing itself in the darkening of his eyes. Otherwise he ignored the jab.

"Actually, during the day I'm more so a teacher attempting to give rise to the worlds' next generation of heroes. I'm sure you understand the importance and reward that comes with being a fine teacher; it takes a lot of patience, wisdom, and compassion after all." _All of which this man is lacking in_ , he thought. "A hero's work is never done though, so I suggest you do your part. I'm sure you have much more important things needing your attention than anything in my classroom. There are villains, criminals, and vigilantes needing to be stopped, and people to save. With All Might retired the public is relying on you to do your job now more than ever."

All of this Aizawa said with professional clarity, but his eyes screamed what he was really feeling.

 _Get out of my classroom._

Sadly, Endeavor didn't take the warning for what it was.

"I am doing my job, Eraserhead." The flames coming from his body burned bright, yet the heat of his glare felt hotter than his flames. "I've listened to the voices of the people we are supposed to be protecting, unlike you fools calling yourselves teachers, and have come to carry out what many are demanding. That brat," he stuck a meaty finger in Izuku's direction, "needs to go."

He could hear many of his classmates' intakes of breath before silence thick enough to cut with a knife settled across the room. With the hardening of Aizawa's features Izuku was sure the silence was about to be interrupted, but Izuku's heart had already dropped to his stomach. A few of his friends glanced at him worriedly while others had to keep themselves from launching towards Endeavor with quirks activated.

Now Izuku had immensely disliked Endeavor before. Their first meeting during the sports festival was unpleasant and lit a fire of anger in Izuku's gut like no other, especially now that Todoroki and he were friends, but now… well, he understood why Todoroki hated the man. The man was no hero. He was a literal flaming pile of garbage.

Before anyone could say anything though, the unwelcome visitor took a step in the student's direction.

"Come with me of your own accord and I will not be forced to drag you out of here."

Nobody moved.

"I see. So that is how you're going to play it, huh? Like you're the victim? That's something a spy would do to gain sympathy from others in order to garner information."

"I'm not a spy or a victim," Izuku spoke up. He raised his eyes up from his desk to meet the teal ones with equal intensity, standing up all the while. He was done with people falsely accusing him of being something he's not. "I'm Deku, and I _am_ going to be a hero."

Endeavor sneered, as if disgusted by the boy's words. "Someone like you could never be a hero. You probably used to report all sorts of confidential information to your father, didn't you? Now that he's locked up you'll probably go running to the new leader the League whipped up. Your innocent act might fool your classmates and the all too trusting teachers in this school, but you can't fool me. I've witnessed your father fight firsthand years ago. He's a monster, and like father like son."

He sent a glance at Shoto before stalking forward. To everyone's complete surprise Endeavor actually grabbed Izuku by the arm, singing the sleeve of his school uniform as he roughly pulled him forwards in order to make him walk. Izuku cried out in shock, green eyes round with a mix of fear and anger as he was forced to stumble forward a step in order to keep up with Endeavor yanking on him.

His classmates were furious.

"What are you doing?"

"Let him go!"

"Midori didn't do anything wrong you big bully!"

"Leave him alone!"

"L-let go of him?"

"He's not a spy, or a villain. He's a hero!"

"What kind of hero grabs someone like that?"

"Aizawa-sensei!"

"Kick that flaming ball of shit's ass, Deku!"

 _"Let go of me, Todoroki-san."_

Endeavor gripped his arm harder at the name.

"What did you just call me?"

Izuku refused to move after stumbling forward, his gaze hardening as he activated One for All in order to pull his arm from the man's grasp.

"You're no hero, Todoroki-san, so there's no reason to refer to you as anything else."

The fire coming off of Endeavor flared blue. Before it could reach Izuku, however, a gruff voice signaled someone was out of patience.

"Enough!"

Aizawa's eyes widened as he activated his quirk, his hair raising up to reveal a positively pissed off look on his face. Even as Endeavor rounded on the other man, a growl escaping him at the feeling of his flames disappearing on him, the students of class 1-A were surprised at the amount of venom in their teacher's eyes.

"Did you just threaten, and then grab, one of my students? Midoriya is right. That doesn't seem very heroic to me."

Endeavor was wise to keep his mouth shut.

"There's a lot about you that doesn't seem very heroic though, now that I think about it." He drawled, quirk deactivating but still using his scarf to keep the other man in place. "I recall a vast amount of charges pressed against you in the past for excessive violence against villains, property damage, accidental civilian harm, even a couple cases of civilian casualties, and a few sensitive accusations I could talk to you more about one on one if you're confused to what I'm referring to."

A burst of fire escaped the man upon hearing this, but Aizawa held up a finger warning him that he wasn't finished talking yet.

"You've done an unfortunately fine job up until now keeping the darker part of your actions and personal life out of the public's consumption, but we both know that might not always be the case. Any day now a talented student of mine, gifted with a scarily accurate skill for analysis, might have too much free time on his hands should he not be allowed to continue school. It wouldn't take him long to dig up some unpleasant aspects of your career and write a few dozen pages worth of material for the world to read. With the distrust of heroes in general running rampant because of the League of Villains' slanderous rumors it would be a real shame for the public to turn on the newly appointed number one hero just days after receiving the title. But such is the struggle of life," he concluded without much emotion, although Izuku could have sworn he saw a hint of that manic grin he sometimes sported.

"Anyway, Endeavor, I will tell you this one time and one time only. Leave my classroom this instant before I kick you out of it myself. Also, if you ever lay a hand on one of my students again, here or outside of school, your title as hero will not be enough to stop the police from breaking down your door."

Within seconds the bindings keeping Endeavor tied up released and found themselves back around Aizawa's neck. The teacher in question locked himself into a staring contest with the other (supposed) hero. It went on for nearly a minute, one gazing at the other coolly while the other seemed like he was trying to make a volcano erupt in the classroom to incinerate the other where he stood. As it was Endeavor was the one to walk away; however, he wasn't wise enough to keep his mouth shut.

"You'll regret getting in my way, Eraserhead."

The underground hero yawned. "The only thing I regret is not getting a solid three hours of sleep last night. And accidentally befriending Hizashi. _And_ becoming a teacher, but that's circumstantial. Protecting my student and kicking you out of my classroom on the other hand? I'm sure I'll sleep more soundly tonight than I have in a while."

Endeavor turned to face Izuku one more time. The teenager was still standing, the cloth on his right arm charred slightly, yet he met the older man's eyes confidently.

"Be on guard, boy. Your continued attendance here has made you a lot of enemies. You'd be wise to just give up on being a hero before somebody gets hurt."

Izuku rolled his eyes. "This is the top hero school in the world; I made enemies the day I set foot on campus to take the entrance exam. I am not going to let anybody make me give up on my dream. It hasn't worked my entire life, and it sure won't work now. I'm going to be a hero that saves people with a smile just like All Might. Even if the public doesn't trust me now, I'll change their minds. That's something you might not be able to ever do, is it?"

"What are you talking about, brat? I—"

"The reason you're here in the first place," Izuku stated. "It was an attempt to get them to accept you as the new number one hero. You thought you'd win the skeptics over by carrying out what they want done, but that's not the way to go about getting them to trust you. All they know of you now is that you're a rich, unapproachable hero that cares more about the number of villains and crimes he stops than anything else. They know you care about your image. It seems a bit silly to me. Do you even care about the people you're supposed to be protecting? When's the last time you rescued anyone because you cared to save them rather than trying to eat up the fame that comes with being a hero? If you can't answer either of those questions right away then maybe you should focus on helping others rather than yourself. That's what a hero does."

Nothing else was said as Endeavor made the last few steps out of the room. He slammed the door closed behind him, and once he was gone Izuku limply drug himself back into his seat. It was as if the spine he'd just shown had turned into gelatin.

"Is he alright?" Mineta asked from a few seats away. The rest of his classmates were looking a mix between worried about their friend, spooked or annoyed by the pro hero's visit, and in awe at their friend's wise words.

"Deku," Bakugo said slowly as he noticed his rival shaking. The greenette looked like he was about to have a panic attack. When he didn't respond to his name, Bakugo poked him in the forehead.

Izuku jolted, startled out of his own head, before he started his mumbling once again going full force.

"S-sorry Kacchan I just can't believe I just said all that to him oh my gosh I just stood up to Endeavor _again_ and lived even Aizawa-sensei told him off for my sake but what if he comes after me later I bet he hates me even more now but come on I didn't even do anything and he thinks he's a hero just coming in and grabbing me like that no way maybe I should put all the notes I've gathered on his misdeeds and give them to Tsukauchi-san so he can charge him for the crimes he's paid the police off it wouldn't be too hard and then…"

 _And he's back_ , the class thought collectively.


	12. Chapter 12

"All Might won't be here today," Aizawa stated once his class had shown up at Ground Beta in their hero costumes. His voice was dry and tired as ever. Izuku wondered if dealing with Endeavor earlier had worn away his patience faster than usual.

"While his injuries have healed there are various meetings being held this afternoon he cannot afford to miss. He will be back tomorrow to resume teaching. Moreover, he left me an agenda for what activity he planned for today, no doubt having time now that he's retired to actually put some effort into his teaching unlike before where he more or less made everything up on the spot."

 _That's a bit harsh, sensei,_ Izuku thought with a wince. He supposed the man wasn't exaggerating though. Even Gran Torino had called All Might a bad teacher.

"Anyway, today he had a rescue operation scenario planned for you all. Two of you will be playing the villains, two of you will be playing the heroes, and one of you will be playing a civilian waiting to be rescued. The villain's goal is to run the ten minute timer up. The hero's goal is to get the civilian out of the building. The civilian will be tied up and not allowed to use his or her quirk. We have time for four rounds of this, which works well since there are twenty of you."

He flipped the packet in his hands to the next page as the students talked amongst each other with varying levels of excitement.

"Dude, I've been waiting for an exercise like this for forever," Kaminari said with a grin. Kirishima nodded in agreement. Beside them Jiro rolled her eyes, absentmindedly twirling an earphone jack around her finger.

"You'd better be careful when using your quirk, Sparky. If you end up playing the hero like last time you'll have to be careful not to hurt the civilian while fighting. That and you'll be useless if you wind up overdoing it, which would probably mean a loss for your team."

"I know that. And hey it's Chargebolt, not Sparky!"

"You'll always be Sparky to me, unless you prefer Jammingway."

The blond sighed in defeat. "Sparky it is then…"

A few yards away from them, Ojiro was speaking in hushed tones to Hagakure. He was worried their teacher would be mad if he overheard them talking while he was.

"I hope we get to play hero this time," he said wishfully to his invisible friend.

"That'd be cool! I just hope we're on the same team again, and that we win!"

The chattering gradually grew louder until a single glare at the students shut them up.

Aizawa was scary when he wanted to be.

"The first group will be as follows: Todoroki, Bakugo, Kirishima, Uraraka, and Midoriya. Todoroki and Bakugo will be the heroes, Kirishima and Uraraka will be the villains, and Midoriya will be playing the role of the captured civilian. The villains will get a five minute head start to situate themselves in the building as well as tie up the civilian." He took a moment to hand the selected students their earpieces, and gave a few lengths of rope to Izuku. "Midoriya, remember not to use your quirk at all during this exercise, and try to act like a civilian would in such dire circumstances. No egging on your captors or doing something that could get you killed in a real-life situation. Todoroki, Bakugo, treat this as a test of teamwork as well as keeping damage caused by your quirks to a minimum. It is imperative the civilian is rescued unharmed. Bakugo, this means trying not to swear at or harm Midoriya."

"No promises."

"If any harm comes to him you'll lose the exercise."

" _Shit._ Okay, fine."

Aizawa held back a sigh. It was only Monday.

"Kirishima, Uraraka, I want you two to make it your goal to use your quirks defensively as well as offensively. That is all. The five minutes start now."

"Why do I have to work with Icyhot?" Bakugo complained loudly as they made to stand outside the entrance of the mock city building they would be storming soon.

"I'm not thrilled by this either," Todoroki voiced tonelessly.

"What'd you say?"

"I said I'm not thrilled to be working with you either. What, are your explosions making you deaf?"

Izuku shook his head as he followed his two friends who would be playing villains into the building. They were running to get as much distance as they could from any entrances to the building, Uraraka using her quirk to make it easier to bound up the stairs as they went up flight after flight. When they finally reached the second to last floor, finding the uppermost floor too obvious a place to hide, she quickly started touching whatever was laying about in order to make it float.

"Just getting something ready for if they find us," she said when Kirishima asked what she was doing. "Can you tie Deku-kun up while I do this?"

The redhead saluted her with a smile, taking the rope that Izuku had been given by Aizawa. "Sure thing, Uraraka!" He turned his attention to Izuku. "Mind turning around so I can tie your wrists, Midoriya?"

"I suppose you are a villain, Kirishima-kun. I have to do whatever you say otherwise you might hurt me."

They both broke out into laughter, much to Aizawa's annoyance from where he and the rest of his students stood watching what was going on from the monitors. Even as Izuku was directed to sit down so his ankles could be tied together they had a hard time getting into character.

"It'll suck having to fight Bakubro," Kirishima admitted out loud as Uraraka rejoined him. "The guy is crazy obsessed with winning."

 _"One minute remaining until the match starts."_ Aizawa's voice came through their earpieces.

"Not to mention Todoroki," Uraraka added a bit nervously. "But on the bright side they can't go all out with their quirks in fear of hurting the civilian. Oh, by the way, the bindings aren't too tight are they?" She asked Izuku.

Izuku merely smiled at his two friends. "They're fine. Don't worry about me though, focus on strategizing! In this sort of situation, your quirks…"

He started muttering once more, and after a good ten seconds Kirishima found himself staring down at the last length of rope in his hands with a resigned frown.

"I'm sorry, dude, but your muttering might put us at risk."

Izuku snapped out of it when the redhead held up the rope. He opened his mouth to protest, but Uraraka held up a hand.

"He's right. It pains me to say this, but we're revoking your talking privileges before you can give away our location. It's for our own best interest."

"I promise I'll be quiet!"

"Somehow I don't trust you. Even a scared civilian in such a situation might call out to heroes for help."

"I suppose you're right," was all Izuku grumbled as he complied with Kirishima. Shortly after a buzzer sounded throughout the building signaling the match had begun.

* * *

The moment the buzzer sounded Bakugo and Todoroki burst into the building and went for the nearest set of stairs.

"No doubt they are towards the upper part of the building," Todoroki said as they took the stairs three steps at a time. Bakugo could have propelled himself up faster, but doing so would have given their position away. "Either the top floor or one of the ones just below it. I can't use my ice right away to freeze them in place either on account of potentially freezing Midoriya, so we'll need to split up in order to find him."

"Whatever. I'll take the top floor; you take the one just below it. If you come across Deku, Round Face, or Hair-for-brains let me know."

With that he picked up the pace, ignoring the existence of his communicator completely until Todoroki spoke through it a couple minutes later.

"They're in a room on the southeast side of the ninth floor," he reported quietly. "I have a clear visual on Midoriya, but there's no sight of either Uraraka or Kirishima. The two of them are most likely hiding in hopes of ambushing us upon entry. If you can drop down through one of the windows discretely we might be able to—"

An explosion from the corner of the room cut the boy off midsentence.

"I said discretely…"

He held back a curse, distaste at his partner's lack of teamwork skills very apparent as he was forced to run into the room after Bakugo, who had blown a window open in order to gain entry to the room from the opposite side. The explosive blond attempted to reach the tied up greenette who was frantically looking upward as if in warning when a harsh laugh sent the heroes stopping in their tracks.

"You might want to look up. Take one more step and the civilian dies, heroes."

Kirishima dropped onto the ground from where he'd been previously held up by Uraraka's quirk. The girl in question made her was out from behind a pillar after being spotted a moment later by Todoroki.

The heroes turned their eyes skyward, Bakugo letting out an annoyed sound when he saw all of the debris floating high above where Izuku sat. Todoroki's mind ran a mile a minute as he calculated the best way to incapacitate Uraraka without her releasing her quirk. He didn't like the overconfident grin on Kirishima's face too much either. If only his ice could reach them faster than Uraraka could release her quirk.

"Hey, Half-n-half." Bakugo's voice suddenly came through his earpiece. "Once I've grabbed Deku use your flames to cover my ass."

Todoroki blinked. He had to have been hearing things.

"Wait, Bakugo, what are you—"

"Think fast," was all he got in explanation before large explosions were propelling the blond towards Izuku faster than the villains could have anticipated.

"Aw man," Kirishima groaned. "I knew that wouldn't work."

He hardened himself as Uraraka released her quirk, the latter of the two falling back while the former ran forward in order to meet Bakugo in battle. Before he could get to close to where Izuku was, however, Bakugo had already reached him. He crouched down for barely a second, just long enough to throw the greenette over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and with an arrogant grin he used his one free hand to blow himself and Izuku to the side before a wall of flames sent the rubble above them turning into ash. The heat of the flames sent Kirishima falling back as well, and Uraraka could only watch as Todoroki used his right side to send a barrage of ice flying at the villains.

"Watch out," Uraraka warned her partner as she jumped over the spreading ice with ease. Her quirk made it as natural as breathing.

On the other hand, between the fire, some charred bits of falling debris, and trying to get to Bakugo Kirishima hadn't been able to avoid the ice. His boots became one with the floor.

"Dangit," he said as he made to punch himself free.

The other villain landed by his side a moment later, her eyes wide with worry.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but the heroes are getting away. Go on without me. Keep tabs of their whereabouts and I'll meet up with you as soon as I can."

"Right!"

Meanwhile, in the stairwell Izuku was starting to fear for his life. He was split between trying to be a calm civilian or a panicked one who wanted the bindings off of him. When his nose accidentally hit Bakugo's boney shoulder blade during one of the turns Izuku decided to go with the later.

"Would you stop mumbling, stupid Deku? I can't understand a thing you're saying with that rope in your mouth."

 _Maybe if you'd take a moment to, I don't know, cut the ropes then maybe we could actually communicate!_ He thought as he repeated the word "Kacchan" obnoxiously despite the rope between his teeth. After several seconds Bakugo finally got fed up with his continuous grumbling. A few curses later Izuku found himself being dropped onto the floor of a corridor, Bakugo kneeling down and slipping the rope off from around his head in one fluid motion.

When he could speak again Izuku smiled.

"Thanks, Kacchan!"

His childhood friend grunted, more or less ignoring the greenette in favor of using controlled blasts to get the ropes from around his wrists and ankles to break. He relayed their location to Todoroki as well, who had kept going down the staircase to make sure Uraraka continued following him rather than Bakugo. The second the ropes gave away Izuku was roughly pulled to his feet.

"Hurry up and follow me," he finally spoke to him. "We're heading to the northwest staircase to exit that way. There are only a few more stories to go before the win is mine."

Izuku rolled his eyes. He was about to tell him not to leave out Todoroki when Kirishima rounded the corner. It seemed Uraraka had noticed the heroes had split up earlier after all.

The villain's attention met the hero and civilian's with a large smile despite him trying to come off as evil.

"I'm back~"

Before Izuku knew what was happening he was suddenly being lifted into the air again.

"Kacchan?" He asked when he noticed a gauntlet being raised in the direction of the windows. Without much warning he released a large explosion that had the side of the building raining down onto the ground outside. The blast hadn't hurt Kirishima on account of his quirk, but something about Bakugo's expression made the villain break character.

"Dude, you are not planning to do what I think you are."

Izuku tensed. As awkward as it was being thrown over his friends shoulders into a fireman's carry, he knew if he was a civilian he would be following whatever orders the hero gave him. Since that was the case Izuku forced himself to trust Bakugo's actions even as he took a couple dangerous steps to the building's edge.

 _"Bakugo, whatever you are planning better not hurt the civilian."_ Aizawa's voice came through their earpieces.

"Deku will be fine. Icyhot," the hero spoke into his mouthpiece. "You're on the ground floor now, right?"

"Affirmative. Uraraka has also been captured. By the way, are you going to tell me what that explosion was about?"

"Go outside. I'm four floors above you by the southeast stairwell about to send you a package. Use your ice to create a slide to slow his momentum and soften his fall."

"A package? Bakugo, you'd better not—"

"Shitty-hair is here and I can't fight freely while keeping the civilian safe. Small explosions won't do anything to his hardened ass. Anyway, I hope you're ready. You have three seconds before I throw him. Three, two…"

Not even a second after Izuku realized what was about to happen he was airborne. Bakugo had hurled him out the window without hesitation, a glimmer of satisfaction in his red eyes as he caught sight of Izuku's panicked face.

"Kacchan you jerk!" He screamed as he found himself freefalling. It took every ounce of control not to activate his quirk in order to break his own landing; he needed to trust that Todoroki was indeed listening to Bakugo's rash plan and would be there to save him. Heroes were to be trusted. And he was playing a civilian, most likely one who didn't have a quirk that could help them land safely from a four-story fall.

Thankfully Todoroki was just as great a hero in training as he was a friend. Before Izuku could fall more than a few yards, the soft incline of ice caught him, something akin to a slide sloping gently downwards until he fell forward into the fire and ice user's arms.

"Are you okay?" Heterochromatic eyes met green, concerned.

Izuku nodded gratefully. "I am thanks to you breaking my fall. I wish I could say I can't believe Kacchan threw me from the building, but it was honestly something he'll probably do again," he admitted. A hand rubbed the back of his neck impishly. "Anyway, thank you, Todoroki-kun."

He was met with a soft smile back in return.

"You're welcome."

 _"The hero team wins,"_ suddenly came the unenthusiastic voice of their homeroom teacher in their ears. _"All of you report to the observation room for grading."_

"I better go unfreeze Uraraka," Todoroki said.

"I better make sure Kacchan didn't hurt Kirishima too badly."

"It's been barely twenty seconds…"

"He only needs two."

* * *

"Tomura Shigaraki, I believe it is too soon for this plan to be put into action. Master would not—"

"Did I ask for your approval, Kurogiri?" Shigaraki glared at the warp gate through the fingers of the hand attached to his face. "There's a reason I'm the one with Master's quirk. He chose me as his successor, which means you listen to me. Not the other way around. You're only to give me your advice when I ask for it. Master would understand my haste if he were here."

"It's been little over a week since you were given his quirk. It has been but a matter of days since you acquired the other three quirks of your choosing. Forgive me if I am hesitant to see you off into battle when you've spent such limited time training, not to mention how well our last encounter went."

"The brat cheated!" He raged, fingers curling in agitation. "Besides, I've trained enough that he won't know what hit him. The longer I wait the more time he has to recover and grow stronger as well. We need to strike now while the media is proving a useful distraction."

"I suppose I see your logic. Keep in mind Dabi and Toga Himiko are still healing from their own injuries, on account of relying on regular healing unlike yourself, which means this will truly be a one on one fight against All Might's successor if you wish for me to finish off the retired hero at the same time. We still need to know when and where Izuku Midoriya will be alone anyway, as well as where All Might actually is when he's not at U.A. We cannot risk attacking there a second time."

"You learned he'll still be teaching at U.A. even if he's retired though, right? Just get the spy to follow him home or something. If he's as weakened as Master said he would be after fighting him then he probably won't be hard to tail."

Kurogiri shook his head. "We both know it is not that simple. The security surrounding All Might and U.A. right now is at its strongest, and he is being escorted to and from the school by the police just as his successor is. It is far too risky for our spy to do anything more than observe at the moment."

"Wait a second. Did you say All Might and the brat are being brought there together?"

"That is correct. I am assuming All Might is picked up before Izuku Midoriya, and then the two of them are driven to school together. It is most likely the reverse when being driven home. We would still be unable to follow the hero to his residence without being noted as suspicious."

"But we know he'll be at the brat's place," the teenager grinned, licking his chapped lips as he grew more excited. "And we know where he lives, don't we?"

"Yes. Master has had that information stored away since the boy's birth after all. He needed an address to send various letters and checks to in order to nudge Inko Midoriya's brain to keep believing the altered memories he'd given her."

The pleased look on Shigaraki's face was the only clue Kurogiri needed to guess what the boy was thinking.

"Perfect. I think it's time we paid the brat's mother a visit."


	13. Chapter 13

AN: I tell myself I'm going to write AN's but I honestly always forget when uploading lol. I just wanted to thank those reading, commenting, and etc. for your support, and say that I'm glad you enjoy this. There are only a few chapters left on account I have a few other stories I really want to get work done on and this one is coming to a close anyway, so keep in mind there will be more work similar to this up eventually (it's going to be a collection of one/two/three-shots of varying length, usually as long as ~3 chapters of this fanfic, and varying prompts) so keep an eye out on that. There are also a few other MHA fanfics I've already published as well. Anyway, enjoy the chapter~

* * *

Lunchtime was upon them, but Izuku wasn't feeling particularly hungry.

Despite the jovial mood that had surrounded him and his friends after the training exercise he couldn't bring himself to enter the cafeteria. It was like his body had automatically locked just before crossing the imaginary threshold into the large room where hundreds of other students sat. Some students making their way inside were already shooting glances at him, each one filled with varying levels of confusion, pity, anger, or fear.

Quite honestly the latest emotion hurt the most; however, Izuku felt their reactions were justified even after being "reassured" by the school to trust each other over slanderous rumors. It wasn't like they knew him. They were being asked to trust a stranger, and even if heroes were the ones asking U.A. students knew better than anyone that heroes were people too. That meant they could make mistakes no matter how amazing they were. Expecting the student body to outright ignore everything going on with the media and even their own families was a silly aspiration.

His classmates had a vast amount of time to become familiar with his character. He'd gained their trust slowly over time just by being himself. On the other hand, he didn't interact with a lot of other students outside his class save for some of the 1-B hero students as well as Shinsou and Hatsume. The average student had no reason to show any sort of loyalty to him.

"Maybe I should just eat in the classroom." He suggested as he stopped, Uraraka and Iida having ground to a halt beside their friend. "It's everyone's first day back since the attack and a lot of the other students are already on edge, so eating elsewhere might be a good idea. Just for today?"

Uraraka's lips curved into a frown the same moment Iida's eyes softened.

"There's no need to be wary, Midoriya." The blue-haired boy spoke as he put a reassuring hand on the smaller boy's shoulder. "I have faith in our fellow students to honor the heroism in you over anything else they might have heard arguing otherwise. Should anyone act shamefully against you, well, I've already given you my word to protect you, have I not? I won't allow another person driven by self-righteousness, fear, or anger lay their hands on you again."

"Same," the girl to his left agreed. "I know it's a bit scary to walk in there knowing people are judging you. Still, you need to keep in mind that you're Deku: the hero that never gives up!" She accented her statement with a fist pump. "You're not going to avoid eating lunch with your friends just because of what other people might be thinking, right?"

Izuku looked between his two friends, hastily wiping away tears that threatened to spill. He really needed to get this crying thing under control.

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks you guys."

Uraraka practically radiated happiness. "No problem! Now let's go, Deku-kun, Iida-kun. I'm starving!"

Just as the trio went to enter the cafeteria though, another familiar face ran up to them.

"Yo, we saved you all seats at the Bakusquad's regular table." Kirishima said with a grin. "I've got most of our class sitting nearby too since I thought it might put you at ease to be surrounded by friends, Midoriya. I hope that wasn't too presumptuous of me. After what happened in first period not to mention Bakugo defenestrating you," he averted his gaze momentarily when Izuku groaned at that, "I sort of want to make sure no one else messes with you today. It's our first day back and all, so…"

"Thank you, Kirishima-kun." Izuku said brightly. It put his friend's mind at ease in a second.

"We'd love to join you guys," Uraraka added.

Iida seemed a bit more hesitant. "Bakugo will be on his best behavior, correct? I don't want his temper getting in the way of a well-needed meal. I'm quite famished myself and his incessant yelling is rather distracting."

The redhead rolled his eyes. "I'm his friend, but even I can't vouch for him. He can go from zero to one-hundred without warning. Half the time I don't even know what he's thinking. He was the one who okayed my idea though, so he'll probably chill out with everyone else there."

It was enough to reassure Iida.

"Alright. Let's be on our way then, or else Uraraka-san will become— what was that slang term again?— ah, _hangry_."

The girl in question groaned while the others just laughed. "I regret trying to teach you and Todoroki the art of teenage slang now. Ugh, this is worse than when you started calling class lit."

A few minutes later the four of them, along with Bakugo, Kaminari, Sero, and Mina, were all seated together. Beside their table Yaoyorozu and Todoroki were locked in conversation while a passionate Mineta went on and on about something to an unenthused Tsuyu and silent Tokoyami. As the seconds went by Izuku could feel his worries fading into the background. He started on the meal he'd purchased, the air buzzing with comfortable companionship as they began talking about the training exercises from earlier.

 _This is nice,_ Izuku thought as he watched Kaminari flick a clump of rice at Mina only for it to hit Sero, who retaliated by taping his mouth shut for a few minutes as punishment. _I'll have to tell All Might on the way home how well things have been going, save the incident with Endeavor. He'll be happy to hear my friends took everything well despite not doubting them in the first place. I can't wait to tell my mother too._

Sadly, the universe that so cruelly screwed him over time and time again chose to strike once more. This time it came in the form of a walking egotistical blond boy by the name of Monoma.

"Well if it isn't Class 1-A," he said casually, an attempt at speaking calmly instead of the more manic way he did when he got too worked up.

Bakugo immediately became furious. The sight of the other blond was all he needed to get him pissed off after their brief interaction during the sports festival.

"What the hell do you think you're doing here, asshole? Get out of here before I burn off that ugly face of yours."

"Bakubro, chill." Kirishima attempted to talk his friend down. "He's a jerk but he hasn't even said anything bad yet."

"Needing to be kept in line by a classmate? How pathetic."

"I retract my statement," he sighed before turning to the newcomer. "Aren't you always getting dragged away by your class representative too, dude?"

A few of them snickered at the embarrassed look that crossed the 1-B student's face before he recovered.

"Be that as it may, at least I'm not chatting it up with someone pretending to be a hero. Great job falling for his innocent act by the way. It's no wonder your class attracts so much trouble with how gullible you all are."

Just like that the mood of the table went down the drain.

Izuku felt his eyes close of their own violation as he tried to block out Monoma's voice. Could he not have a few minutes of peace amongst friends without it being interrupted?

"Monoma, was it? Were you not in attendance at the assembly this morning?" Iida questioned rather coldly. "Our teachers confirmed the League of Villain's rumors to be false. I am sure you heard them announce that the villain who attacked our school is not my friend's father. Midoriya is neither a villain nor spy, so for you to insinuate he is anything else besides a hero is unbecoming of someone in the hero course."

"Exactly," Mina added with a protective glare. "So buzz off, would ya? Leave our precious Midori alone."

Monoma shook his head, eyes half-closed condescendingly while a self-assured smirk rested on his face. His attention was on Iida.

"You were the student that allowed a girl from the support course to make a fool out of you in the first round of the sports festival, weren't you? I don't think it would take much more than someone's kind intentions to trick someone like you with a false story. Anyway, heroes can lie too when it comes to protecting the sanctity of their institution. My parents taught me that. I think it's more likely that your friend here has everybody fooled. After all, he fooled many into thinking he was quirkless in the first two rounds of the sports festival just to bring out his barbaric power once he'd found a worthy opponent."

Izuku's hands curled into fists.

"You're wrong!" Uraraka stood up, cheeks darkening in frustration. "First of all, Iida is a kind, intelligent guy. Sure he was tricked but he wanted to help Hatsume and something like that has nothing to do with his friendship with Deku. Speaking of, you're also wrong about him. Deku wasn't tricking anybody. Plenty of students didn't rely on their quirks too much early on, you included. Besides, he had less training with his quirk, so it made sense for him to avoid using it when the effects to his body were so damaging."

"You'll believe whatever he tells you though, won't you? All because he's your friend. Maybe you even want him to be more," he added snidely, which just proved to make Uraraka more visibly bothered. "He could be lying to you about everything and you'd never doubt it. That's exactly what a spy trying to steal our secrets would do."

This proved to make those at the table even madder. They were all so focused on defending their friend that none of them save a silent Bakugo noticed Izuku slowly drawing into himself. His head was already tilted so he stared at the ground, unable to watch his friends argue on his behalf, and his shoulders slumped as he drew them in. His knuckles, however, were turning white from how tight his fists were clenching.

He wished everyone would just stop. He was tired of all of the verbal fighting and mind games, something which was becoming increasingly more fatiguing than physical fighting.

"It's really uncool to accuse him of pretending to be a hero or our friend." Kaminari told Monoma. "Midoriya isn't who you're making him out to be."

"Oh? What would you know, anyway? You're just a boy who lost the preliminaries to someone from my own class. You fry your brain whenever you go all out with your quirk, so it's likely you don't have the brain function to keep up with our conversation as it is. Fooling you would be child's play."

Izuku was acutely aware of his nails digging into his palms.

Sero broke in as Kaminari's face fell. "What's wrong with you? Is insulting others your real quirk? Kaminari could easily beat you in a fight, and Midoriya is a good person. They'll be much better heroes than you'll ever be."

"What he said, you copycat jerk!"

"Mina, calm the hell down. He's not worth your time."

To everyone's shock Bakugo let out a controlled explosion that silenced nearly all conversation in their immediate area. He leveled a red-eyed glare at Monoma before gazing over at his childhood friend.

"These idiots might not have known Deku until coming to U.A., but I grew up with the nerd and I will tell you right now, you shitty extra, that there's a greater chance of Endeavor marrying All Might than Deku being a villain or spy."

"Oh, has he ensnared the rabid dog as well? I—"

A small explosion cut him off, a snarl ripping from the explosive hero being held back by Kirishima. "Shut up! I wasn't finished talking! You think you can go around talking shit about people you don't even know? You're even stupider than you look! Nobody else knows Deku better than me, so don't kid yourself. Not Round Face, Four-eyes, Icyhot, or even his own damn mother. _Nobody._ And I'm telling you Deku worked his ass off to be here, not to listen to yourself talk shit about him. That's my job, asshole."

"I've known him my entire life," he continued after a moment of quiet for emphasis, "and not once did he ever show interest in wanting to be anything other than a hero. I'm pretty sure his mother and All Might combined couldn't get him to become a villain even if they asked. You can't make up that kind of drive. And you know what? I give him a lot of shit but he's got the potential to maybe be second best one day," he'd never be able to beat Bakugo in his eyes of course, "so you need to get off on being an ass to someone else. Get away from my table now before I kill you."

For a moment nobody spoke. It was as if he'd said just what he needed to say to get Monoma to leave them alone.

And then: "You think you're good enough to vouch for him? The whole world saw you chained up like an animal after winning the sports festival all because you didn't get the fight you wanted. You're practically a villain yourself."

Nails broke through skin, and Izuku found his breath falter.

In that moment he had had enough.

Izuku stood up so fast Uraraka had to sit down in place of being knocked over. His eyes were glassy as if he was holding back tears, yet another emotion had won out.

Monoma took a step back when he met the burning protective gaze of Izuku.

"Kacchan is not a villain, and neither am I. You can insult me however you want but I don't appreciate you berating my friends. Iida, Uraraka, Kaminari, none of them deserve to listen to your insults either."

The anger in his eyes morphed into something closer to sorrow as he stared at Monoma.

"You know, I thought your quirk was really cool when I rewatched the festival coverage and saw what you did during the cavalry battle," he admitted tiredly. "You'll make a great hero one day, I'm sure, but you're pretty insecure about yourself, aren't you? That's why you despise my class. It's the reason you're always saying things to bring us down or to get the other classes to dislike us too."

"That's not—"

"I'm sorry, Monoma-kun, but I think you've done enough talking. It's my turn now."

Izuku sent a faux dazzling smile at him, and the other boy backed off.

"I've dealt with bullies growing up my entire life. When I was little they just knocked me down, because I was too weak to stop many of them even if I always stood up against them. Things are different now though, aren't they? I'm strong and it has nothing to do with my quirk."

He glanced at his friends. His smile softened into a more genuine one.

"Your words hurt, Monoma. I won't lie and say they don't. They hurt, but you know what else? They don't really matter all that much. You're just one person that doesn't believe in me, and I'm used to that. There will always be people like you after all. The thing is I'm not going to let you get to me. There are too many people relying on me to let your words hold me back, so if you still want to hear yourself speak then go on ahead. At this point it doesn't matter. Do you want to know why?"

Izuku closed his eyes and smiled at the boy once more.

"I don't think anyone is listening."

* * *

After that lunch went by smoothly. Anything Monoma had been about to say after Izuku was done talking, out of anger fed by insecurity, jealousy, and fear, had been halted thanks to Kendo. The flood of curses he'd prepared to let out despite the dozens of people watching the scene he'd created could only stop when an enlarged hand to the back of his head knocked him out temporarily.

Still, it was nice of her to apologize on her classmate's behalf.

As it was, Izuku was ready to go home and relax, the stress of the day's events having caught up to him.

"Had a long day, Izuku my boy?" All Might asked once Sansa pulled safely onto a road outside U.A.'s gates. "Aizawa told me what you said to Endeavor. I would say making enemies with the current number one hero was not a good idea, but that man would probably dislike you regardless. Anyway, I wish I had been there to see you tell him off like that. From what Aizawa told me it was very satisfying."

Izuku let out an awkward laugh. "I didn't mean to go off on him, really! He just really rubbed me the wrong way when he actually tried to drag me out of there."

 _It reminded me too much of how he used to manhandle Todoroki-kun._ He tried to push his friend's accounts from his mind. Thinking of them now would only worsen his mood, and he was ready for his mom's presence to cheer him up.

"Besides," he continued with a smile that could only be described as goofy, "you'll always be the number one hero in my book, _dad_."

"Well with as many notes you've taken on me someone would be hard-pressed to argue otherwise."

"Hey!"

The two of them talked casually for the remainder of the ride. All Might told him of how he was going to introduce himself to the class as Yagi Toshinori as well as All Might, explaining the barest minimum of how his quirk worked like what he'd told Izuku on the roof all that time ago. He still wanted to continue teaching after all. He also didn't feel like lying to the students either especially after how well- received Izuku's secret was. There was no reason for him to hide the truth anymore anyway. Retiring came with the connotation that the hero was no longer fit to keep fighting, which mean anyone who wanted to target him already assumed he was weakened significantly.

"Ah, we're here. Do you want me to walk you up?"

Izuku shook his head.

"No thank you, _Dad_ Might. You've had a long day too and we both know my mom will keep you talking for ages if you come up."

All Might hid his face in his hands.

"My boy, did you serious call me what I think you did?"

Sansa can be heard snickering from the front of the car.

"What?" Izuku asked coyly as he opened the door to leave. "I thought it was clever."

"You're too much for me," the man bemoaned back. "I'll have to think of something similar. _Small_ Might, maybe?"

Izuku blushed. "No!"

All Might laughed at the look on the boy's face before waving at him. "We'll resume this conversation later I'm sure. You have a nice night now, all right? Make sure to tell your mother I said hello."

He was met with an eye roll. "I will, but you're just going to see her tomorrow for dinner anyway, aren't you? Or did you forget?"

"You cheeky little brat— I did _not_ forget!"

Once they'd finally said their goodbyes, Izuku started up the stairs to their apartment. As he did so he noticed there were no undercover members of the police milling about like there usually were.

Something cold and thick slithered into his lungs. With the way he was suddenly feeling lightheaded it was almost as if the sludge villain was ambushing him again, but he knew that wasn't the case. He found himself channeling his quirk into his limbs once more, his body surging up the remaining stairs until he was frantically pushing the, much to his horror, unlocked door open in his haste.

"Mom!" He shouted as he pushed the door open, his heart racing a mile a minute.

When he caught site of the state of the house he froze.

Random objects were scattered around the apartment like a mini-tornado had gone through. In the center of the living room was a pile of broken objects and books as if they had all been pulled towards that area at once. The couch was partially disintegrated, half of it seeming like it has just disappeared while the edges flaked off like dead skin.

 _Shigaraki had been here._

Just as he thought this he noticed a piece of paper at his feet, which wouldn't have stood out if not for the crude, unfamiliar writing written in ominous red ink. The villain would be a one for theatrics.

 _If you want her back alive,_ it read, _here's what you need to do, hero._

Izuku's heart sank as he continued reading. When he reached the bottom where an address was written along with a time that was approaching far too soon for comfort he couldn't stop himself from screaming in frustration.

 _He has her. He has mom. He's going to hurt her if I don't do what he says, but how can I trust him to follow through? Knowing him he'll use his quirk or whatever new quirks he has on her regardless if I follow his orders or not. If it's just me and All Might that come like he wants neither All Might nor my mom will be able to fight. I can't beat Shigaraki and Kurogiri while protecting both of them. I can't. I can't do it._

 _I can't do it alone._

He pulled out his phone to speed dial All Might faster than he ever had before. The moment the man answered, Izuku could feel a beast crawling up his throat waiting to be let out. Without missing a beat All Might added Tsukauchi as well as a few choice and trusted members of U.A. staff to the call so Izuku could tell them about the note. After telling them everything it said and his idea on how to get his mother back the adults had no choice but to agree to his plan.

"It's risky," Aizawa commented. "Shigaraki might very well lose it if you go through with this. He also most likely has several quirks unaccounted for at his disposal if what you said about this so-called quirk-stealing quirk is true. I'm not sure my own quirk will be able to nullify all of them. It might only work on his original quirk, or one that I'm focusing on, or perhaps none at all."

"It's not like he wasn't planning to kill me anyway," the boy countered. "At least I'll be able to make sure he comes after me and only me until you get my mother out of there."

Izuku was heroic to a fault. His plan was reckless and revolved around him taking on Shigaraki one on one like the villain demanded, but if they wanted to save Inko by sundown they had to move immediately.

"We're going to save her," All Might told Izuku just before the call ended. He could tell the boy was afraid. He was not only scared for his mother but everyone he'd just gotten involved. He was also portably afraid for himself.

The greenette swallowed his fear.

With a smile on his face, he answered his mentor with a voice filled with hope.

"I know we will. Shigaraki is about to find out how hard the truth really hits."


	14. Chapter 14

Kurogiri was surprisingly civil considering the circumstances.

"Excuse me," Inko dared to venture once Shigaraki left the room. For the past hour or so she had been hesitant to talk in front of the younger villain. He was so caught up in telling Inko how exactly he thought her rescue would go that she more or less drowned him out. Still, he often became manic at some points in his monologue, which made her think twice about saying anything or moving from her torn arm chair while he was around.

"Kurogiri-san, you've been awful courteous towards me tonight. May I ask why?"

"How did you expect us to treat you?"

The woman was quiet, brows rising in confusion. "I don't know. You're part of the League of Villains, so I guess I assumed I would be treated cruelly. You watch all those news stories of tortured hostages or crime shows where kidnappers tie up their victims, don't you?"

The warp gate hummed thoughtfully.

"The news and television dramas rarely depict accurate criminal activity. When it comes to the media stories are depicted in a way such to entertain the viewer, but when they do that true, raw emotion and all of the details that make up the real story are thrown out. That is not to say we could not have restrained or harmed you; however, you agreed to not put up a fuss, so it only right that we treat you with respect."

Inko couldn't school the surprise from her features.

"I would apologize for the state your apartment was left in," the man continued, "but your attempt at resisting capture was admirable considering our sudden arrival, how unsuited your quirk is for combat, and our own power. Honestly though, if I had been allowed I would have simply warped into the apartment to collect you without having caused a scene. On the other hand, Tomura Shigaraki was adamant to test out his new quirks. His zeal led to us breaking in after disposing of those officers guarding your residence. Hurting you was not the immediate goal here tonight as the boy informed you already. We also know you would not be able to escape, so tying you up was deemed unnecessary."

She nodded slowly. "I see. If it isn't too much trouble, would you also mind telling me where we are right now? This house appears like it used to be lived in," the woman commented as she gazed around the place, "but has been abandoned for some time. Sh-Shigaraki doesn't live here, does he?"

Neither of them needed to mention the blood stains on the carpet.

"I suppose it doesn't matter if you know." He answered, finding himself pacing around the room as he checked the time absentmindedly. "The boy used to live here when he was young. I will not give you an exact time, but I can tell you that much. He does not live here currently. This home hasn't been occupied for several years since a particularly gruesome death occurred here. No one has attempted to disturb the property because of that. It is likely for the best, because it still holds some sentimental value to the boy. More than he would like to admit."

Inko quieted, unsure of what to say next. She was still afraid. There were two villains who would kill her if forced to even if one was being quaint at the moment. The younger villain worried her more, the crazed amount of emotion he showed when going on about finishing off All Might once and for all making her sick to her stomach. Genuine terror unlike any other still sung through her veins since she listened to the boy rant about killing her little Izuku. She would never want to abandon her child, but if the young villain tried hurting one hair on her boy's head she would give her life trying to stop Shigaraki. She'd do anything for her son. That's just what mothers did when their child was in danger. She loved him more than anything else in the world, herself included. She would not stand by and watch as a twisted boy tried to take her own boy away from her.

A mother's love for her child was a force to be reckoned with.

Nearly five minutes of tense silence later Shigaraki returned to the living room appearing bored.

"How much longer until they show up?" He whined, fingers itching with impatience.

Kurogiri checked his watch. "They have fifteen more minutes. Remember you gave them just enough time to reach this location by train without having much time to debate coming up with an alternate plan. It won't be long now until they arrive, so you had best prepare yourself with the time we have left."

Shigaraki scowled at the older villain.

"I _am_ prepared. My new skills have been maxed out, and I'm ready for the event to begin." He turned to Inko a moment later, eyes narrowing behind the hand covering most of his face. "You keep giving me this look. Do you have something to say, or are you just trying to make me mad?"

"I-I didn't mean to upset you," she spoke quickly and apologetically. The last thing she wanted to do was anger him. "I just noticed since I've been here that you make a lot of video game references. Do you play them?"

A scoff came from the boy. "Of course I do. Do you think I just bring them up for shits and giggles?"

Inko ignored his crude language without missing a beat. She'd grown up with Mitsuki as a best friend after all, and that woman could still swear worse than a sailor. A sailor that had stubbed his toe even.

"I used to be a pro at Mario Kart. I was very good at the older Zelda games too." Her next words were hesitant, causing the younger villain to look at her in genuine surprise. "What do you play?"

There was a long pause before he answered as if he was debating whether or not it was worth mentioning.

"Dragon Quest," he said finally. "Final Fantasy every now and then."

 _Izuku used to play games like those too,_ Inko thought with a sour taste entering her mouth. _This boy is still so young. I wonder if someone had been there for him if things would have turned out differently._

Before either of them could say anything else, however, there was a knock at the front door.

"Kurogiri," Shigaraki smiled a crooked smile, all chapped lips and dry skin, "it seems our guests arrived just before the deadline. Why don't you go let them in?"

* * *

At the sight of his mother alive and unharmed Izuku almost fainted.

"Mom!" He made to leave All Might's side, to push past the warp gate, but his body froze when Shigaraki waved at him nonchalantly. Those five fingers of his wriggled in the air similarly to how a spider's legs moved when they hypnotized their prey before going in for the killing blow.

"Not another step closer, green bean." Shigaraki warned cruelly from where he now stood just behind Izuku's mother. "I haven't bothered to decay any part of her just yet, but that can all change in an instant depending on you."

"You promised you wouldn't touch her if we came," he ground out.

"And you know a villain's word is never to be trusted."

He ignored Izuku's furious gaze and instead turned his attention to the blond next, a sadistic glee lighting up his features.

"All Might, you look a bit ill. I knew Master wouldn't have been captured without bringing you down, but you look like a walking skeleton. All that's left of you, oh great former symbol of peace, appears to be skin, bones, and your stupid hair. If you weren't going to die here I sure would have enjoyed handing you over to my rather helpful acquaintances in the media. Imagine if they had seen your true form. They would have swarmed you alive like the easily manipulated vultures they are." He turned to Izuku once more, voice mocking. "You know all about that don't you, _villain's son_?"

Blue eyes narrowed before green eyes could.

"Shigaraki," All Might started in a tone heavy with displeasure. "We came like you asked of us, so let the boy's mother leave. She has nothing to do with this. You have my word that she will not go for help."

"Like your word means anything; it's just as good as mine! You heroes can't be trusted to keep your words much less than you can be trusted to save those in need, and this woman," he rested a couple fingers on her shoulder, "birthed that brat." The villain gestured to Izuku with his free hand. "She's not so innocent either. Why should I let her go, hmm? It would be so easy to kill her right here, right now. All you would be able to do is watch."

 _"Don't do it. Please."_

Izuku's voice was pleading, and Inko found herself with tears running down her cheeks.

Shigaraki's self-assured smirk turned into a frown. "You think begging will help her case? She's nothing but an NPC whose purpose ran out after having you."

Inko couldn't stop herself from flinching at the remark. It was all the reaction necessary to remind Izuku of his plan in the first place. Letting his anger consume him for just a moment, he pushed the fear for his mother out of his head long enough to clear it.

"You know what, Shigaraki? Maybe All for One did use her just to have another kid. He had plenty of children from the sound of it, but just remind yourself why he did that in the first place. If not for his own unsuccessful attempts at passing down his quirk through his genes you might not even be here today."

"What?" Shigaraki's hand found his neck, nails scraping across it methodically. "You're not making any sense, brat."

Izuku grinned. "All for One never told you, did he?"

"Of course he did. He went around having children like you in order to steal your quirks for himself."

"Wrong. He kept having children because he wanted a successor, but all of his children were quirkless. It was only after losing a fight against All Might years ago and being forced into hiding in order to recover that he gave up with that method and instead found a successor in you. Can you imagine if I had been born with his quirk like he'd been hoping for, Shigaraki? I would have been his successor."

The sheer anger radiating from the younger villain was palpable.

"You're the one that's wrong! Master would never lie to me like that! I'm not some stray he picked up; he saved me because he knew long before I did that heroes only ever let people down when things get nasty."

"Did he really save you though? He might have found you when you needed help, but he immediately used your circumstances to his advantage." _Time to really make him mad, Izuku._ "Honestly if not for his previous failures he probably would've left you alone. You're nothing but a pawn to him, Shigaraki. What's worse was that he settled on you as his successor as a last resort. He said it during the last fight himself."

 _This is it. I really hope Aizawa-sensei gets the signal._

"He told me that if I had been born with a quirk, I would have made a perfect successor."

Shigaraki lost it.

"You're lying!" He screamed, attention leaving Izuku's mother completely as he prepared to rush the hero in training. "I'll kill you, you brat! I was going to make it quick, but now I think I'll show off my quirks by taking it nice and—"

The doorbell rang, effectively cutting him off. The pleasant sounding chime echoed throughout the house almost ominously. Inko looked at the two villains, bewildered when they sent each other confused looks. Why did they looked so worried?

"The power has been turned off for years," Shigaraki said lowly as his eyes filled with an undeterminable emotion. Those gathered in the living room had been bathed only in the remaining lowlight coming from the skylight windows. "How did the doorbell ring if…"

Suddenly the entire house was filled with light.

Inko shut her eyes tightly at the unexpected change, a hand coming up to her face instinctively. Both villains reacted similarly. This meant for just a moment they were caught off guard, and that was all the time Izuku, All Might, and Eraserhead needed. The same instant the lights in the house had all come to life was the same instant the pro hero burst through the window adjacent to where the elder Midoriya was seated. By the time either of the villains knew what was going on Inko had been brought to safety, and All Might had run back out the front door to where several heroes were positioned to fight. The only people left in the house were a stunned Kurogiri, expressionless Shigaraki, and relieved Izuku.

"I guess you were right about a hero's word being just as good as a villain's," Izuku said cheekily as he activated his quirk. One for All thrummed in his veins as it glowed a bright white across his skin.

The last part of his plan had been for him to get out of there just behind All Might, but the nagging sense of self-sacrifice and justice in his heart told him he needed to stop Shigaraki while he was still getting used to All for One. The longer he waited to stop the new leader of the League of Villains the more people would be hurt in order to get to him. Shigaraki would ruin lives by stealing quirks and bringing about senseless violence, fear, and panic for civilians everywhere.

If Izuku could prevent it by fighting him right here and right now, then he would do it.


	15. Chapter 15

AN: Okay guys, this is the end! I may do an epilogue but I honestly like this open-ended ending? I have so many other ideas I want to work on for MHA anyway, so you can always check those out in the future. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did writing it~

* * *

"Aizawa-san?"

The hero grunted in lieu of greeting, depositing Inko into the waiting protection of the police officer Sansa and a couple pro heroes. He would have stuck around to speak with her but first he had to make sure All Might and his student made it out okay.

However, he underestimated just how troublesome his student could be when he noticed All Might making his way towards him worriedly.

And suspiciously alone.

The blond beat Aizawa to the question at hand. "Where's Izuku?"

"Do I look like his keeper?"

"You're his _teacher_."

"Yeah, and he was supposed to be with _you_."

"Does it look like he's with me?" All Might questioned, becoming panicked. "He was supposed to be right behind me, and he wasn't."

"I wasn't the one that was supposed to be keeping an eye on him. My task was to retrieve Inko Midoriya, and you and Midoriya were to make sure Shigaraki wasn't taking her hostage before giving the signal. He knew very well he was supposed to retreat with you afterwards. I expected him to follow his own damn plan, All Might. Seriously." He sighed agitatedly. "Ever since you got involved he's become even more of a problem child. What are we supposed to do now? Knowing that brat he's probably gone and engaged Shigaraki in battle after we explicitly told him not to!"

All Might winced as Aizawa snapped at him. "I fear that's what happened as well."

"He's an idiot. None of us have any idea what quirks that unstable villain has; for all we know the young psychopath could be too much for even a couple pros to handle. Midoriya isn't even wearing his hero costume."

"Shigaraki hasn't had All for One's quirk for too long, so I doubt he's mastered anything yet. He'd be mediocre with whatever quirks he's already obtained at best. I understand why my boy thinks what he's doing is a good idea, but with the warp gate there the fight would be quite unfair."

Aizawa finally let out the curse he'd been holding back. Without another word he turned around and leapt through the already broken window with burning eyes. Maybe he couldn't use Erasure on Shigaraki or Kurogiri, but he knew he could occupy Kurogiri for a short interval of time. He just hoped it would be enough help to stop the brat from getting killed.

* * *

Izuku could only think of one thing to call Shigaraki's newest fighting style.

Annoying.

"Regretting your decision to fight me already, little hero?" The younger villain taunted as Kurogiri prepared to swoop in at any moment. After using their only leverage against him all bets of allowing the two boys to fight amongst themselves were off. He wasn't risking another defeat like last time. "It's tough to jump around like the bug you are when you can't move around confidently. I acquired this quirk specifically to counter you, you know."

The greenette grimaced from where he crouched on the other side of the room, eyes straining to see through the gray smoke-like substance that had filled the room. He had been smart to jump away from the villain after landing a kick to the villain's chest. The twin trails of smoke had leaked through his lips like a warning, giving him just enough time to leap backwards before it was spewed directly into his face.

"This quirk, Smog, not only works as a smokescreen, but it also delays the neural transmissions responsible for muscle firing once it seeps through your pores. You can feel it, can't you? Isn't it getting harder to breathe? That's because while you're still be able to move around your muscles are still having to work three times as hard just to maintain regular function. Now you won't be able to maneuver nearly as fast as you usually do. In other words," he grinned, "you have a status condition that will make beating you a whole lot easier."

Unfortunately, he was right. The simple act of breathing suddenly seemed to be laboring. Izuku pushed the worry this caused him aside, however, instead focusing on gathering up his strength in a single finger in hopes of blowing the rest of the smog away. He could only hope that the effects would be reversed if he could stop more of it from coming into contact with him.

"I don't think so, Izuku Midoriya."

Kurogiri created another two warp gates before Izuku could act. One appeared directly in front him while the other swirled behind his back.

 _He's going to try redirecting my attack to come back at me like he did with Thirteen. I can't let him—_

A blur of black with a speck of yellow caught Izuku's eyes just as he was preparing to call off his attack. Instead of doing that though, the hero in training decided to let his power go as soon as his muscles cooperated before the villains could catch on.

 _"Smash!"_

Just as the pressure produced by One for All would have been swept into the purple vortex before him, the gates dissipated. There was nothing stopping the attack from blowing the smog Shigaraki created out the broken window and dispersing into other parts of the house. While Aizawa used his scarf to spin Kurogiri around by his neck armor Shigaraki was blown back into the wall, which cracked from the force of the hit despite Izuku not having used a full one-hundred percent.

His muscles burned from the strain his attack caused. For a moment his head spun as he tried to get more air into his lungs now that there was barely any lingering smog left in the room.

"Nice try, brat, but that's still not going to cut it.

To Izuku's horror he watched Shigaraki hold up his scratched up arm as he stood up. It was all he could do to watch as the scrapes he had sewed themselves back together before his eyes.

"A regeneration quirk? Those are some of the rarest in the world. How did you—"

"Did you really think Master would waste a rare quirk like this on a noumu if he didn't have others just like it at his disposal? There's no need for a healer to join the party now that I have this. Even if you land a hit on me I'll just heal myself over and over again."

"There has to be some sort of cost."

"Oh, you think this has a drawback? The one noumu had didn't." He smirked before an excited look entered his eyes. "The same noumu that crushed that annoyingly cool hero Eraserhead's skull into the dirt. I'll have to deal with him after I put you into place. His quirk would be a great one for me to have at my disposal. Canceling others' quirks will make it so much easier to steal then since they won't be able to resist."

A wave of protectiveness swept over Izuku. He didn't doubt that his homeroom teacher couldn't handle himself in a fight with Shigaraki even with his newfound quirks, but right now he was dealing with Kurogiri. Erasure didn't work on the warp gate either. Honestly though it just made Izuku mad Shigaraki kept running his mouth.

"You're not going to be stealing anyone's quirk again, Shigaraki."

"I'd like to see you stop me."

Without warning they sprinted for each other.

The next minute was devoid of words. Both boys used their quirks to talk instead, all grunts and exclamations of pain as Izuku's foot connected with Shigaraki's chest or the latter's fingers managed to decay a small but searing mark across the other's face. They danced around as Shigaraki attempted to avoid the hero's attacks while Izuku tried to avoid a direct hit of smog. He was able to blow it away again, but the thing Izuku found most frustrating was trying to knock Shigaraki out. A hard hit to the head should have knocked him out, yet Izuku's moves still weren't up to par since smog was still making his movements sluggish and less powerful. He wound up being able to pin the lanky villain down with a well-aimed feint; he turned up behind the villain after slipping past his legs and knocking him down, one hand pinning his wrists over his head while the other palm was placed over his mouth in attempts to make sure no smog got through.

"It's over, Shigaraki." Izuku spoke. He struggled to maintain the position as his muscles protested, but he focused on making sure all five of the other boy's fingers couldn't touch him at the same time. "Once Eraserhead is done with Kurogiri, he'll be able to fetch the other dozens of heroes waiting outside. Even with two new quirks there's no way you can hope to fight against all of them."

The greenette expected the other to be more upset by his defeat. With the way he usually behaved after his plans not turning out well Izuku thought he'd be fighting to keep the villain down, but he wasn't even thrashing or trying to get away. It was too late that he realized he was missing something went his hand suddenly felt like it was melting.

Izuku screamed,

Instinctively he leapt away, One for All carrying him to the other side of the room as tears formed in his eyes. The sound of Shigaraki's laughter carried throughout the disaster of a room and over the sounds of fighting elsewhere in the house as Izuku clutched his burned palm to his chest. With clenched teeth he took in the sight of bloody, ruined skin. It was without a doubt a third degree burn with the way his palm was charred and numb around the edges of the injury.

 _He had more quirks than he was boasting about. But what…_

Green eyes widened, a paralyzing effect coming over him as he met Shigaraki's own satisfied eyes.

"What's wrong, brat?" Twin trails of black smoke escaped the villain's mouth as he talked. "Does this quirk look familiar? It's just fire-breath. It's not too common of a quirk, but it's not like you know anyone else who breathes fire. Or do you?"

 _"Mom, what kind of quirk does dad have?" He recalled asking his mother one day. It had been after his many failed attempts at trying to pull small objects to himself._

 _"Oh, honey, he can breathe fire."_

Even if it ended up being a lie to begin with, the whole thing was a smack to the face. Anger welled up in Izuku's bones quicker than ever.

"Shigaraki," he growled, eyes burning with emerald fury.

The villain smirked at the look.

"That anger suits you, brat. Are you sure you want to be a hero?"

Before he could say another word Izuku launched himself across the room. Shigaraki inhaled quickly, orange light escaping his throat as he prepared to let out a long stream of fire. Their attacks were about to collide when suddenly a warp gate opened beneath the villain's feet. In midair there wasn't much Izuku could do other than flip to the side so he wasn't sucked in himself. The look on Shigaraki's face as he was pulled in was one of pure rage, like he wasn't ready for their fight to end, yet as much as Izuku agreed with him he knew better than to follow them. He'd already allowed his anger to consume his thoughts too much during the fight, and if he'd continued fighting that way he would have surely lost.

"I will defeat you, Shigaraki." Izuku vowed from where he stood just as the gate closed. He wouldn't know if the young villain had heard him not.

"Midoriya, what the hell was that back there?"

The greenette froze as the usually monotone voice of his homeroom teacher sounded from behind him, and he spun around to see the older man's eyes narrowed with disappointment.

"We had a plan. It was _your_ plan. For you to go ahead and do your own thing was not only childish, foolish, and dangerous, but unbecoming of a hero in training who had no authorization to do such a thing."

"I'm s—"

"I don't want your apology. I want an explanation. What made you think you could handle taking on those two again especially when we all were in the dark about what new quirks Shigaraki possessed? I'll give you one chance to explain it to me, and if I don't like what you have to say I might have to talk with Principal Nedzu about having you be booted from the hero program. Or worse, at the chance of making that flaming excuse of a hero happy, expelled."

The pro hero expected to see fear. He'd seen it during the quirk assessment test all those months ago at the mention of being expelled after all. On the other hand, in addition to the expected frustration there was something else present.

He looked exhausted.

Izuku's lower lip trembled as his adrenaline faded, and he found himself leaning against the wall as he gradually slid down it until he was sitting on the floor. "I-I'm sorry, Aizawa-sensei. I thought if I went with my plan like I originally was going to I would regret it, because letting him go would have guaranteed him stealing more of innocent people's quirks. You know about All for One now. Shigaraki is his successor, and with that quirk he'll inevitably rise to be the most formidable villain out there. I thought that maybe if I could stop him here and now while he's still inexperienced I would stand a chance. I guess I was wrong."

Aizawa was as unsettled as he was intrigued.

"What do you mean by that?"

"He's stolen a regeneration quirk, a quirk that lowers visibility and muscle activity, and a fire-breathing quirk. Despite having them for such a short time he more or less knew how to use them for battle. Me? I've been training physically for almost two years and improving my quirk for months and I still might not have beaten him."

His teacher reminded himself not to roll his eyes.

"Kid, you've improved vastly since the quirk assessment. You have the potential to get even stronger as time goes on."

 _"I'm not getting better fast enough!"_ He exclaimed, tears running down his face. Aizawa almost took a step back at the emotion in his voice.

"You don't get it. I'm All Might's successor. If Shigaraki takes up where All for One left off it's my destiny to defeat him one day. Only _I_ can. Right now though, I'm not anywhere near good enough. I'm supposed to be the new symbol of piece one day, but how can I do that if I can't save people like I've worked my entire life to do? How will people smile when I've allowed someone like Shigaraki to get away? Don't you get it, Aizawa-sensei? It was my responsibility to stop him and I couldn't even keep my anger in check during our fight," he was beginning to struggle keeping his breathing from coming out in gasps. "What kind of h-hero does that make me?"

"A hero in training, but a hero all the same."

Izuku's eyes widened, red and wet from crying yet still managing to meet Aizawa's. The teacher sighed as he crossed the distance between them. When he crouched down Izuku flinched out of instinct, but this didn't deter the man from placing a single hand on the boy's head.

"I'm sorry for threatening to kick you from my class. You made a mistake today, but you've still got a lot of potential that I'd be a fool to give up on now. I think I need to have a talk with All Might about how much pressure he's put on you so quickly. You're going to be a great hero one day, Midoriya, but you can't forget you're still young," he ruffled the boy's curls a bit, which only made more tears fall from the compassionate action. "This battle isn't entirely yours just yet. You need to rely on us adults to help you in times like this."

"I—"

"We can talk about this more later. Right now we need to get that burn of yours checked out and relay to everyone outside about what happened. Are you able to move?"

Taking in a large breath, Izuku used an arm to wipe off his face somewhat. He then gave his teacher a watery yet determined look similar to the time he'd broken his finger on the first day of class.

"Yes, Aizawa-sensei; I can still move."


End file.
